24 Italian Songs And Arias

A show about failure, by two award-winning failures.

After failing to win numerous awards and after many unsuccessful funding applications, 24 Italian Songs and Arias is a recital, an opera, a gathering for (and by) those whose best isn’t always enough.

(Beloved) performance artist Brian Lobel failed to get into the New York State Choir. (Acclaimed) Soprano Gweneth-Ann Rand (4.48 Psychosis, Royal Opera House; Aida, English National Opera) failed to win at Cardiff Singer of the World. These two magnificent failures have joined forces to create a show about trying your best, aiming to please and how we ever know if we are ‘good enough’. They are joined by the amazing Allyson Devenish and Naomi Felix and a few other very special guests.

There’s no dress code…but you won’t be turned away for donning a top hat or silky gloves, should the mood strike you.

“FOUR STARS: It somehow retains its warmly comic surface while daring to reveal glimpses of the pain of failure.” - The Reviews Hub, 2022.

ALTAfrica’s Interview with Gweneth-Ann Rand here, March 2022.

“FIVE STARS: And the ending? God. You just wait.” The Crumb, 2022.

24 Italian Songs & Arias is also an interactive website, developed as part of an Artist in Residency with UMS (Ann Arbor, Michigan). For more of that, click the 24 Italian Songs & Arias website here.

24 Italian songs has been in development since 2015, now in its final performance. Previous performances/iterations are below. Enjoy!

This work, a finalist for the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award, was presented at the Crush Room (featuring Angela Caesar and George Reynolds) at Royal Opera House, in 2015. The work is a collaboration between Brian Lobel and soprano Gweneth-Ann Rand, Karen Lobel, a 17-year old boy, and a community choir. The work was presented as a work-in-progress at Latitude Festival in 2016. 

‘it's hard to resist the gorgeous final moments which remind that sometimes imperfection is far more interesting than flawless perfection, and often just having a go is a success in itself.’ Lyn Gardner

Ready Lyn Gardner’s full review here