Alternating between melancholy, gaiety, listlessness, whimsy, child-like wonder, intrigue and passion, 'Facade' is a boundlessly imaginative interplay of words and music.

In the 1920's, William Walton and Edith Sitwell's musical miniatures caused an outrage when performed with their scandalous mix of musical styles and absurdist prose. The cryptic words spoken through a megaphone by Sitwell herself, hidden behind a screen, together with Walton's jazz-inspired music featuring the dance rhythms of tango, foxtrot, tarantella and waltz through to the modern sounds of Satie and Stravinsky caused a sensation. Grouped together as 'Facade' and increasing in popularity over time, these eccentric musical vignettes are now celebrated for capturing the wit, frivolity and spirit of the 1920's more authentically than any other work.

Facade has had many incarnations, as a ballet, as orchestral suites, songs and poetry. This performance at Glebe Town Hall will present William Walton's definitive collection - "Facade: An Entertainment" all twenty-one settings of Edith Sitwell's poems published in 1951 together with "Facade 2: A Further Entertainment" compiled for the Aldeburgh Festival in 1979. Three beautiful piano settings composed by Walton in 1932 to Sitwell's poetry will also be included as part of the performance.

Reciters: Silvia Colloca & Simon Lobelson

Conductor: Luke Spicer

Directors: Matthew Barclay and Johanna Puglisi

Lighting Designer: Colin Alexander

Orchestra: Sirius Chamber Ensemble

Instrumentalists (7): Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Cello, Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet / Bass Clarinet, Percussion, Piano

Duration: 70min (approx)

Music: William Walton (1902-1983)

Texts: Edith Sitwell (1887-1964)