City of Dreams

City of Dreams comes to St George's Church on Friday 2 October, a musical journey through Renaissance Florence that spans the early 15th century right through to the birth of opera. The whole thing is narrated by someone taking the role of Maria de' Medici, who weaves the story together as the music changes around her.

It starts with the engineering challenges of building Brunelleschi's dome in the early 1400s and follows the city's cultural and musical growth over the next couple of centuries, ending with the first opera ever written, composed for Maria de' Medici's wedding in 1600. Along the way, the narration looks at how artistic innovation, civic ambition and creative problem-solving shaped the identity of the original 'city of dreams'. The music comes from Dufay, Verdelot, Isaac and Caccini, so you'll hear the sound of the Florentine Renaissance shift from the early polyphony of the 15th century towards the more dramatic, solo-led style that eventually led to opera.

St George's Church is a Brighton venue that regularly hosts world-class acts programmed by Melting Vinyl, with names like Low, Iron & Wine, Patti Smith and The Handsome Family having played there. It's a space that's seen a lot of different music over the years, and this is a far cry from the indie and folk that usually pass through.

It starts at 19:00 on Friday 2 October, with tickets at £18 standard and £9 concession.