MAMI WATA to be Presented by Pegasus Opera Company In Association With The Royal Opera House

As theatre's eagerly await to reopen and welcome audiences and companies prepare to resume performances, Pegasus will launch their live performance season with a two-night concert at the Royal Opera House in the Linbury Theatre, with MAMI WATA, on the 16th and 17th July 2021 at 7.30pm.

Pegasus Opera Company is one of the companies contributing to the prolific programme of productions for the Engender Festival at the Royal Opera House. Engender is The Royal Opera's initiative to change gender imbalance in opera and music theatre and drive towards gender equity in all areas of the opera field. The annual Engender festival celebrates the work of women and non-binary people in opera and provides a platform for relevant discussions with audiences.

Pegasus Opera Company, the UK's leading diverse opera company, strives to break down the elitist perceptions so often associated with opera by making it accessible to all whilst championing diverse artists and composers will present a rich, varied programme of works celebrating trailblazing, diverse women in opera.

Conceived by Alison Buchanan, Artistic Director of Pegasus Opera, Mami Wata brings together established composers such as British based Bushra El-Turk and Errollyn Wallen, alongside international composers; Nkeiru Okoye, Lettie Beckon Alston, Margaret Bonds, Dorothy Rudd Moore and Nahla Mattar. MAMI WATA, a first of its kind, will feature many UK premieres.

The programme, curated for the Engender Festival, provides a powerful and stirring experience for audiences to immerse themselves in the currents of positive change. Artistic Director and renowned soprano Alison Buchanan said "MAMI WATA is monumental and groundbreaking, It brings together female artists to celebrate the vocal works of diverse female composers. It is an introduction to a rich, varied, yet often unheard body of work. It reflects the huge shift in consciousness when it comes to diversity and inclusion. To have MAMI WATA at ROH, world leaders in opera is significant. 30 years ago I was the first Black British woman to give a solo recital in the ROH crush bar after winning the Maggie Teyte competition. This time I share the stage with a host of beautiful, talented women of colour as we honour and celebrate amazing women composers of color. We have come a long way!"

This concert connects these diasporic voices within the unifying theme of water, which symbolizes movement, journeys, rebirth and freedom. For centuries, women have been linked with water in art and literature. But the illustrious African spirit Mami Wata has been a culturally significant representation of Black women in water for thousands of years and is the earliest Black mermaid found in widespread creation myths across West Africa.

Presented by Pegasus Opera in association with the Royal Opera House, this concert continues Pegasus Opera's work to champion diverse artists in opera, giving voice to a collection of work from trailblazing composers.

Mami Wata is the earliest black mermaid found in widespread creation myths across Africa and became a huge inspiration for the theme of this production. Directed by TD Moyo, The concert will feature artists Alison Buchanan, April Koyejo-Audiger, Simone Ibbett-Brown, Camille Maalawy and dancer choreographer Monique Jonas along with other exceptionally talented artists and musicians.

Pegasus Opera Company producer Jordan Mullineaux commented "Working with the Royal Opera House on this production is such an exciting way for Pegasus to return to the stage after the lengthy lockdown. We are proud and excited to get back to the stage. Next year Pegasus will celebrate 30 years of advocacy for diversity in music and to perform in this venue and to work in harmony with the Royal Opera House is such a wonderful opportunity to champion the talented artists we work with on a daily basis."

Pegasus Opera Company recently announced two new distinguished Patrons to support their work in diversifying opera in the UK; Baritone, Roderick Williams OBE and Sharon D. Clarke MBE. For Windrush Day 2021 they released Rush, the Windrush anthem for Lambeth which can be viewed on the Pegasus Website. Future shows now on sale are an opera double bill: Passion, Poison and Petrifaction / The Prodigal Son (L'enfant prodigue) which will be performed at the from September 9-12 in the Susie Sainsbury Theatre, Royal Academy of Music and the annual Pegasus Black History Month Concert ARISE: Legacy and Hope at the Greenwich Theatre in October.

Information about these performances can be found at https://www.pegasusoperacompany.org/whatson

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