Ensemble Iris: The Soldier’s Tale

Written in the shadow of the First World War, Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale tells a story of morality, greed, and disappointed hopes with a septet of musicians and a quartet of characters: Joseph, the Soldier, who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for riches beyond his imagination; the Princess, whose eternal slumber is awoken only by the sound of the Soldier’s violin; and the Narrator, who leads us at every turn through this cautionary tale. Stravinsky’s angular, rhythmically charged, and harmonically rich musical language is shaped around a devilish violin line which contrasts a warm blend of woodwind and brass - sonically marking out the contrast between the bucolic opening of this folk tale, and the darkness of its bitter end.

Ensemble Iris is an orchestral collective based in London, founded and conducted by Alice Knight. Flexible at its core, Ensemble Iris explores a varied range of repertoire, from Darius Milhaud’s chamber symphonies to Ruth Gipps’ wind dectet, and collaborates with emerging instrumentalists, singers, actors, dancers, and composers to tell evocative stories via eclectic and engaging programmes.

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Runtime: 60 minutes (no interval)

Please note there is no assigned seating for this event.