Ana Silvera

Ana Silvera
Background information
Genres Folk
Occupation(s) Singer, Songwriter, Composer
Website www.anasilvera.com

Ana Silvera is a British alternative singer-songwriter and composer, known for the poeticism of her lyrics, her classical piano style and her work with choirs.

Background

Ana Silvera is from Syrian/Irish descent. She grew up in North London, the daughter of a writer and a psychologist. She is operatically trained, and has performed solo roles with the English National Opera including Königskinder by Engelbert Humperdinck, (broadcast live on BBC Radio 3) as well as appearing at the Royal Opera House when she was a teenager.

She studied voice and piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and English Literature at University College London.

Recent Years

In 2012, Ana Silvera performed a seven-part song cycle entitled "Oracles" plus a second choral work that drew on Estonian folklore, "Tule Maale, Armas Veli!" (Step Onto The Ground, Dear Brother!), at the Roundhouse main space alongside the Estonian Television Girls Choir [1] in February 2012. She shared the bill with Imogen Heap for this concert, as well as a following performance at Sage Gateshead. The performance was positively reviewed, and with the works described by Artsdesk as 'two stunning folkloric sagas...captivating, mysterious and complex'.[2] "Oracles" was then nominated for a British Composer Award 2012. A short film, directed by Kate Church documenting the creation of "Oracles" was premiered on PORT Magazine website.[3]

Her debut album, "The Aviary",[4] was released with KMC Records in March 2012, to positive acclaim, described by The Guardian as 'a stunning album...that mixes operatic and folk elements with magical story-telling'.

Ana Silvera has performed and/or been played on radio stations including BBC Radio 3 (The Verb,[5] Late Junction), BBC Radio 6, BBC Wales, XFM and Resonance FM. Ana Silvera has collaborated with New York-based producer Brad Albetta (Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson), renowned London-based producer Ray Singer, violinist/arranger Maxim Moston (Antony & the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright),[6] and Jeff Langston (Antony and the Johnsons). Ana Silvera has performed at major venues in London including the Purcell Room, Union Chapel and The Roundhouse.

She has also played keyboard and sang backing vocals with alt-folk singer, Yo Zushi.

Royal Ballet Collaboration

Ana Silvera was commissioned in 2013 by the Royal Opera House to create, compose and perform in a new work for Royal Ballet alongside choreographer Ludovic Ondiviela and film maker Kate Church, entitled 'Cassandra'.[7] It premiered on the 30 October 2014 at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House and starred soloist Olivia Cowley as the main character, replacing principal ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson who was injured shortly before the show.

Musical style

Ana Silvera's writing often relates to fairy and folklore, and/or writes through personas, sometimes historical or fictional, such as Biblical figure Salome, Heloise (of Heloise and Abelard fame) or Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife of Osip Mandelstam. Her recent song cycle, "Oracles", was based on the 'traditional arc of a fairytale'. Accordingly, her lyrics are quite literary in style, and she is therefore included in the new clutch of singers who cite literary sources and classical styles of playing as their primary reference points. She also plays piano and guitar.

In performance, she has played covers of Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and Britney Spears's "Womanizer". She has also written a song inspired by the life of Coco Chanel called 'Notes from an Opera'.

Ana Silvera has cited chanson singers such as Barbara and Jacques Brel as major influences.

Discography

Singles

Solo albums

Collaborations

References

  1. ↑ "Estonian Television Girls Choir Official Site". Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  2. ↑ "Artsdesk Review". Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  3. ↑ ""Oracles" Film by Kate Church". Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  4. ↑ "The Aviary on Bandcamp". Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  5. ↑ "Live Performance on The Verb". Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  6. ↑ "Maxim Moston website". Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  7. ↑ "Cassandra at the Royal Opera House". Retrieved 2014-08-20.

External links

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