A condensed presentation of the “Sirens” chapter from Ulysses, with text arranged, edited and narrated  by Benjamin Luxon and original music and arrangements of traditional songs by Thomas Carlo Bo. Join  us for an afternoon dedicated to the brilliance of James Joyce in verse and music; Bloomsday is a  celebration of Joyce’s life, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on the 16th of June, and named  after the protagonist of his 1922 novel. 

The particular date of Bloomsday – June 16, 1904 – was chosen by Joyce to be the date the events of his  novel takes place for a special reason, as it was when he and his eventual wife Nora Barnacle had their  first date. Its name comes from the main character of the novel, who is called Leopold Bloom. The very  first Bloomsday dates way back to 1924, and caught the attention of Joyce himself. In a letter to an  acquaintance he mentioned that ‘there is a group of people who observe what they call Bloom’s Day – 16th June’. 

The great British baritone Benjamin Luxon CBE has performed in some of the most prestigious opera  houses and concert halls around the world. Since his debut with Benjamin Britten’s English Opera Group  (Britten would later write the title role of Owen Wyngrave specifically for him) he had been for many  years a regular guest artist with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Glyndebourne – and from  there to the European opera houses of Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Prague, the Metropolitan  Opera, Vienna State Opera and La Scala. He has worked with most of the world’s major conductors and  orchestras, and has made over 100 recordings.Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Bloom by Bronze by Gold  
Conceived and Adapted by Laurence Earner  
Arranged and edited by Benjamin Luxon  
Original Music & Arrangement, Thomas Carlo Bo  
Benjamin Luxon, narrator  
Jon Morrell, Tenor  
Thomas Carlo Bo, piano  
Julian Müller, cello