Stop The Presses!

Come Sail Away With The Sydney Opera House’s Ship Song Project

By | Stop The Presses! – Tue, Jul 26, 2011 4:03 PM EDT

In 1990, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released "The Ship Song," which was later voted one of the Top 30 Best Australian Songs of the past 75 years by the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA). Now the Sydney Opera House, the ultimate hub of Australasian arts and culture, has appropriated the lovely Cave ballad as its own theme song, and released an allstar video at www.theshipsongproject.com to celebrate.

Over the past year, various Sydney Opera House performers were asked to participate in the Ship Song Project, including vocalists Neil Finn of Crowded House/Split Enz, Daniel Johns of Silverchair, the Temper Trap, Martha Wainwright, and Paul Kelly, joined by the Sydney Symphony, Opera Australia, Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bell Shakespeare Company, and Australian Chamber Orchestra.

The result is, of course, as stunning as the Opera House itself:

Said Sydney Opera House CEO Richard Evans about the unique project: "We set out to create a tribute to the House's role in the global creative community--a love song to creativity, if you wish. We wanted to give people everywhere the opportunity to experience the creative genius that makes this place tick, to get a taste of the artists, venues, and other spaces that power the heart that beats beneath our soaring white sails."

A documentary about the project, narrated by Australian actor Guy Pierce, will air on Australian network Foxtel. Check out www.theshipsongproject.com to watch behind-the-scenes video of all of the project's many illustrious participants.

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