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Errollyn Warren: the composer shaking up the Last Night of the Proms and Purcell’s operas alike
Operatic composition’s leading lady on revitalising Virgil, mixing classical and pop, and refusing to harbour identity-based ‘grievances’
31 May 2021 • 5:00am
Errollyn Warren s new opera, Dido’s Ghost, will premiere at the Barbican on June 6
Credit: BBC
At last, Errollyn Wallen is having her moment in the sun. Having toiled away for decades on the fringes of contemporary classical music, always labelled “quirky”, never quite accepted, this Belize-born, London-bred composer, now 63, is firmly ensconced at the top table.
She’s written around 20 operas, one of which – Another America: Earth – was premiered at the Royal Opera House; two of her works opened the Paralympic Games in 2012. Last year, Jerusalem – Our Clouded Hills was premiered at the Last Night of the Proms, and she was made a CBE.
Billboard reports the news via an unnamed source, noting that WME offered no official comment. The company was responsible for helping to secure public appearances for Wallen, including tour dates. According to
Billboard, Wallen had been planning a North American arena tour to run in late 2021 and early 2022, as well as a European tour, prior to his near-total ostracization from the country music industry.
Less than 24 hours after the damning video which was captured by a neighbor and shows Wallen arriving home after a night out and using the N-word as he says goodbye to a friend was first made public on Tuesday evening (Feb. 2), Wallen had his record deal suspended indefinitely, and many radio companies pulled his music from their stations. While Wallen s music can still be found on Spotify and Apple Music, he s been removed from every playlist except his own.