The 1999 Manchester Art Educational Festival Renaissance

In the early part of the 17th century, Venice ship builders, made redundant by changes in the economic world, found employment as set builders for a new form of theatre; the Opera, and thus shared the rebirth of Venice. Monteverdi led the development of this new form and amongst his first opera’s was L’Orfeo, the story of Orpheus, the master musician, who decended into Hades to recover his lost lovfe, Erudice. Opera north are working with schools in Greater Manchester to produce new pieces of music theatre based on the Monteverdi original. As l’Orfeo was first being produced in venice, the Venetian ambassador to the court of King James went to see a performance of Pericles by William Shakespeare, which other schools are using as a base for drama, visual art and literacy.
The third ‘Renaissance’ element in this year’s festival is the story of Persephone, married to Hades but reborn each Spring. This story is being explored through dance led by Manchester Dance Centre. the Festival consists of exhibitions of visual art and performances based on these themes.