Vache Baroque: Out of the Deep

Out of the Deep: A Musical Meditation on Wilde’s Letter from Prison

One of the great wits and personalities of the 19th century, Oscar Wilde was sent to prison in 1895 for what was deemed the ‘gross indecency’ of his sexuality. Taking inspiration from the De Profundis (‘Out of the deep’) letter which Wilde wrote during his incarceration, Vache Baroque will explore themes of love, isolation, and redemption in an absorbing journey of words and music.

Poetry and prose from the 17th century to the modern day, including extracts from Wilde’s letter, will be interspersed with songs by Henry Purcell and two deeply moving De Profundis psalm settings by Bach and Zelenka.

By kind permission of the President and Fellows of Magdalen College.

About the Artist

Since their launch in September 2020 Vache Baroque have produced 4 critically-acclaimed operas (The Sunday Times, Opera Magazine, Bachtrack, The Stage, “Newcomer of the year” Opera Now), 4 multi-disciplinary projects (London/The Vache), 1 international tour, 45 in-school workshops, 2 young artist programmes for emerging singers, 1 project for deafblind young people in partnership with Bucks Council SEND Service, and 14 community workshops in collaboration with Wycombe Refugee Partnership and the Wycombe Arts Centre.

They have ambitious plans to grow both their live events programme and education and outreach programmes. As a charity, all of their income goes straight back into activities, so the more funding they have, the more work they can do.

Photo of Guy Cutting: Ben McKee