The acclaimed baritone Peter Brathwaite expands on his pivotal Rediscovering Black Portraiture series and the vital new work-in-progres Insurrection: A Work In Progress, which explores the history of resistance in Barbados through the tradition of opera and Peter’s personal story. Taking its cue from the radical folk traditions of enslaved Black workers, this new performance piece celebrates the human need to gather, move, make music, and tell stories amid and in response to oppression. Peter will be in conversation with renowned British dance artist and former Chief Executive of The Place, Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE. 

Peter Brathwaite studied at the International Opera School of the Royal College of Music and Operastudio Vlaanderen, Ghent. He was born in Manchester and graduated with a First-Class degree in Fine Art & Philosophy from Newcastle University. Peter’s 2022/23 season includes his debut at the Philharmonie de Paris as Stubb in Olga Neuwirth’s The Outcast with Ensemble intercontemporain/Matthias Pintscher/Netia Jones; Melot in a new Tiago Rodrigues production of Tristan und Isolde that will be conducted by Leo Hussain at Opéra national de Lorraine and Théâtre de Caen, and a return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to co-create and perform in Insurrection: A Work in Progress. In concert, he sings Britten’s song cycle Tit for Tat with Malcolm Martineau at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh. His 2021/22 season included his debut at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, creating the role of Joey in the world premiere of Kris Defoort’s The Time of Our Singing; a return to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Wolf Witch Giant Fairy (winner of an Olivier Award 2022), and his debut at the Munich Biennale with Ensemble Musikfabrik. He was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. In the 2020/21 season he made a critically acclaimed main stage debut at the Royal Opera House as Martin Carter in Hannah Kendall’s one-man opera The Knife of Dawn. In concert, he performed Schubert’s Winterreise at London’s St John’s Smith Square (part of Barbara Hannigan’s Momentum), and Britten’s The Five Canticles at Leeds Lieder. Peter has performed leading roles across Europe for companies including Nederlandse Reisopera, Opéra National de Lyon, and Danish National Opera, with performances at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Philharmonie Luxembourg. Within the UK, Peter has sung for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Opera North, English Touring Opera and Glyndebourne on Tour. Further details about Peter’s opera work can be found in Opera. To bring attention to lesser-known works of composers silenced by the Nazi regime, Peter created the multimedia recital Degenerate Music: Music Banned by the Nazis (London Song Festival/Studio Niculescu Berlin) which was later developed into Effigies of Wickedness: Songs banned by the Nazis (English National Opera/Gate Theatre). His pioneering Rediscovering Black Portraiture series, made during the Covid-19 pandemic, reimagines historical depictions of Black subjects with the help of domestic material culture. Pieces from this project were exhibited by King’s College London/Wellcome Trust in Autumn 2021. His book on the series with be published by Getty in Spring 2023. Further details about Peter’s series can be found in Rediscovering Black Portraiture. Peter has written for The Guardian and The Independent. A BBC Radio 3 Next Generation Voice, he authors and presents Discovering Black Portraiture and In Their Voices, and presents features for Essential Classics and Inside Music. His documentary Rebel Sounds: Musical Resistance in Barbados is available on BBC Sounds. Further details about Peter’s broadcasting and writing work can be found in Broadcasting & Writing. His awards include Peter Moores Foundation Major Award, Independent Opera at Sadler’s Wells Fellowship, The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Award, Winston Churchill Fellowship, and International Opera Awards Foundation Bursary. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an alumnus of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme. He is a Trustee of Leeds Lieder, Second Movement Opera and CHROMA. 

Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp is a key figure in the UK arts and culture scene with close to 40 years professional experience in the sector. He is currently working as a freelance Arts and Culture Consultant. He began his career as a dancer; as one of the leading dance artists of his generation, he performed for 13 years with the internationally acclaimed London Contemporary Dance Theatre and then with other leading companies during a 25-year career as a performer, choreographer, teacher and director. From 2007 to 2016, he was Chief Executive of The Place, the UK’s leading centre for contemporary dance development. From May 2018 to Sept 2020, he was Director of The Africa Centre, in its new home in Southwark. He was proud to have led such an iconic organisation, at a time when its role as a home for contemporary African and diaspora culture and heritage, is needed now, more than ever. He is a devoted champion of the arts, cultural learning, creativity and diversity, and frequently presents as a keynote speaker in a variety of contexts, from schools to leadership courses, industry related events and the corporate sector. He has been a regular contributor to Speakers for Schools. He has served on various arts Boards, including The Royal Opera House and The Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund. He is currently a Patron of Akademi and The Place, and a Trustee of choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company, and the Chineke! Foundation and Orchestra. He is also a School Governor. He has appeared in eight successive editions of the annual Powerlist of Britain’s most influential people of African and African Caribbean heritage, as well as in Who’s Who. In 2003 Kenneth was made an OBE in recognition of his services to dance, and in June 2017 was made a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, also in recognition of his services to dance.