Nick Vadala July 2nd, 2011 - 6:37 PM
The man behind Blur and the now-hiatused Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, premiered his English opera Dr. Dee—which he wrote and stars in—yesterday at the Manchester International Festival. Prior to the opera’s premiere, Albarn released streams of two tracks from the project that you can check out after the jump.
Dr. Dee centers around the story of 16th English philosopher, astrologer, alchemist and apparent heretic John Dee, who, according to legend, was run out of Manchester following rumors of a meeting with the Devil to seek guidance and advice.
Stopping by The Andy Marr Show and BBC Radio 6 last month to premiere the tracks “Apple Carts” and “The Reigning Queen,” respectively.
Dr. Dee will run at MIF until July 9, after which it will move to the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera.
Fans of Albarn will note that this is not the 43-year-old’s first foray into theater, with his first production Monkey: Journey to the West, which premiered in 2007 at MIF. That show, a Chinese opera, was made in collaboration with director Chen Shi-zheng.
Listen to the tracks below:
