Feeney-Dracula (Ballet in Three Acts)

"Feeney's score is wonderfully atmospheric and rises suitably to underpin the gory climaxes"
- Sunday Telegraph

"Imaginative neo-romantic writing, bright, responsive playing..."
- Yorkshire Post - Dec. 1996

"John Pryce-Jones conducts with authority"
- Fanfare

PREPARE YOURSELF. Gothic romance developed out of man's fascination with the horrific, the occult, and the power of innocence and goodness to triumph over the forces of evil. Many would argue that Stoker's Dracula, is the finest example of the genre, and Count Dracula, the supreme anti-hero, has an overriding sensuous appeal that has endured and inspired film, television, and theatre productions since its first appearance in 1897. To mark the centenary of Bram Stoker's masterpiece, Northern Ballet Theatre has created the first ever British ballet version of his most famous novel.

Artistic Director Christopher Gable and Assistant Artistic Director Michael Barrett-Pink drew together a team of extraordinary talent, including composer Philip Feeney who created this his second full-length work for Northern Ballet Theatre. This innovative and inspirational composer has produced a new ballet score that is romantic, majestic and spine-tingling - a combination destined to thrill.

Philip Feeney studied composition with Robin Holloway and Huge Wood at Cambridge, and with Franco Donatoni at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. His works have been performed and broadcast throughout Europe, most notably at the Venice Biennale, the City of London Festival and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. His first commission by Northern Ballet Theatre, was in 1987, when he composed the music for Michael Barrett-Pink's ballet, Mémoire Imaginaire, which was subsequently used by HTV in the film drama, A Chance to Dance. Since then he has composed Danse Classique, Strange Meeting and Jazz Concerto for NBT, and part of the three-act ballet Cinderella has been recorded on 20th Century English Ballets for Naxos.