Duke Special to play Dundalk

The Juliet Letters, the song cycle by Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet, will be performed by Duke Special and The Fews Ensemble at four concerts, on both sides of the border in October, including in Dundalk.

This evocative work weaves soaring melodies with rich, dark drama, delving into the complexities of the human condition through imagined letters addressed to Juliet Capulet, the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. 

The concerts will take place in The Court House, Bangor, Co Down (Sunday 13 October); Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co Louth (Wednesday 16 October); Avenue Arts Centre, Belfast (Thursday 17 October);  and the Town Hall, 1WML, Dublin (Friday 18 October).

Just as Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet’s 1992 collaboration brought together a musician born of the punk explosion and a quartet from the classical tradition, so with this new concert interpretation which pairs two contemporary greats of Northern Irish music: indie baroque pop romanticist, Duke Special, and the innovative Fews Ensemble, led by Joanne Quigley-McParland (Artistic Director of Newry Chamber Music and The Fews Ensemble), which is no stranger to exciting collaborations, having worked with Northern Irish actors Ciarán Hinds (Belfast, The Terror) and Ian McElhinney (Derry Girls), as well as dancer Colin Dunne.

The Juliet Letters was inspired by a newspaper item about a Veronese academic who had taken on the task of replying to letters addressed to ‘Juliet Capulet’, and from the fact that Costello and the Brodskey’s were fans of each other's music.

Read Next: Louth TD again calls for Covid inquiry into Dealgan House deaths

“We wanted to explore the under-used combination of voice and string quartet, but were anxious to avoid that junkyard named ‘Cross-Over’,” Costello has said of the work. “It also conforms to, and occasionally upsets, the structures found in our respective disciplines and indiscipline!”

That spirit of commitment and exploration will be found in these new renditions, as Duke Special’s distinctive, soulful voice and theatrical flair blend with the masterful, elegant accompaniment of The Fews Ensemble.

The Juliet Letters explores themes of love, loss, longing, and heartbreak (Costello said it employs “music which we believe touches whatever part of the being that you care to mention”), creating a world where passion and despair are laid bare, it promises a deeply emotional, immersive, and captivating experience for audiences.

All concerts start at 7.30pm. For more information, tickets and booking, see: https://www.newrychambermusic.org