Julia Holter has been commissioned to produce a score for classic 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc.
The commission has come from Leeds’ Opera North company with whom she’ll work on the score. It will see her develop a live soundtrack that she performed in Los Angeles over the summer, expanding it to be played by all 36 members of Opera North’s performance group as well as the three members of her live backing band.
"I’ll be adapting a couple of relevant medieval chants for the ensemble to take the melodies to a wild place that reflects the rapture and trauma of Falconetti’s Joan, with the help of bells, organ and other instruments," Holter says of how she plans to develop the piece.
It will premiere at Leeds Town Hall on June 24, 2020 and a London performance will follow at the Barbican on June 27.
