Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

An incredible night showcasing Rachael Cardiello, members of The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, and many other amazing visual artists, carnival performers, stage actors, and dancers, in a spectacle extravaganza, celebrating gypsy culture.

Not your typically opera, “There Once Was a Girl: A Gypsy Opera” leads the audience through a childrens storybook. As the story unfolds, there becomes evident a divide between what is real life, and what is the fantastic world of the girls imagination. The girls real life struggles with loosing her father, and her resulting journey to find herself, mingle with the childs story, told both through haunting original music, and visual performance and art, with dancers, and actors playing the roles of an entire gypsy community, each telling part of the story in their own way.

Rachel Cardiello, one of Victoria’s most inspiring singer/songwriters, has created an amazing collection of haunting melodies, and honest lyrics, that bring to mind Coco Rosie. Her unique, pure, and at times playful music, along with the children’s story that she has written, is the base of the gypsy opera. Her soft, easy sound is enriched and matured with expert backing and collaboration by The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra.

The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, a unique, and musically melding band from Victoria BC, that incorporate their love of classical, gypsy, African, country, bluegrass, and ska, to create an extremely unique sound, returned from a 4 month tour in Europe in January, 09, and have since been riding a series of sold out shows including Sugar Night Club, and The Upstairs Cabaret, and are excited to soon be playing at Richards on Richards. Throughout Europe, the group was involved in many art, theatre, and circus performances, and came back to Canada with a strong desire to bring the music and arts energy from Europe back to their home town. Fans of The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra will be excited, and surprised, as,The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, in collaboration with Rachael Cardiello, have created almost entirely new music for the gypsy opera.

Ambiguous Arts Festivals is a not for profit society dedicated to showcase local artists, musicians, and performers in various locations around Victoria. Most known for cabaret style showcasing, Ambiguous Arts Festivals is excited to be collaborating with local musicians The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, and Rachael Cardiello, as well as a phenomenal array of fantastic actors, dancers, and artists, to create a play narrated by music, and visually interpreted by dance, shadow work, projection art, painting, and theatre. This will be the sixth AMBIGARTS Festival since 2006. Working with both professional, and newly up and coming dancers, artists, costume designers, and actors from Vancouver, and Victoria, There Once Was a Girl: A Gypsy Opera is by far the most extravagant Ambiguous Arts Festival to date!

Tickets available at Lyles Place starting March 30th