'Total Immersion' weekend celebrates Oliver Knussen's 60th birthday

Barbican and BBC Symphony Orchestra present weekend of composer's works

On November 3 and 4 the Barbican and BBC Symphony Orchestra will celebrate Oliver Knussen's 60th birthday with a 'Total Immersion' weekend dedicated to his music. On Saturday November 3, there will be a double bill of his operas Where The Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop!, based on the popular children's books by Maurice Sendak and performed by the Britten Sinfonia. On Sunday November 4, the BBC Symphony will celebrate Knussen, its Artist in Association, with a series of concerts, films and discussions, including his Whitman Settings and Requiem: Songs for Sue performed by Claire Booth, and his Violin Concerto performed by Leila Josefowicz.

Where The Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop! are both directed and designed by Netia Jones who has created specially commissioned multimedia stagings for the works, using the original illustrations. Conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, the cast is led by Claire Booth and also includes Susanna Andersson, Susan Bickley, Lucy Schaufer, Graeme Broadbent, Graeme Danby, Jonathan Gunthorpe and Christopher Lemmings.

Where The Wild Things Are was staged at the Aldeburgh Festival earlier this year and you can see pictures from the performances below.

Click the first image to launch the gallery: