Carleen Anderson

MELIOR Opus Griot is an ocean-floor, time-travel fantasy conceived, written and composed by Carleen Anderson. Performed in the dramatic theatre format of an Opera, it blends Gospel, Soul, Jazz, and Classical music for a fresh staging of theatrical storytelling.

A little girl is thought to be lost at sea. She is rescued by a mystical water spirit and guided to the seafloor society of MELIOR. It is a tale of surrealistic humans who use their gifts to advocate people choosing to behave better with each other in the midst of chaos and global destruction.

To help reach the goals of covering the costs of studio recordings for a Double Album release of the MELIOR Opus Griot music, as well as the expenses for staging a theatre production premiere, a variety of fundraising events are being considered. Updates will follow as they surface.

So far, the £4K+ monies raised by this crowdfunding website campaign has paid for the studio recordings of three MELIOR Opus Griot music scenes. To studio record the remaining nine music scenes would cost upwards from £12K, (Twelve-thousand British Sterling Pounds/GBP).

Further expenses, such as marketing and distribution, are in addition to visual media film projection and audio equipment hires to coordinate the music storyline and soundscapes within the narrative of this blended-roots Opera, to be expressed in the performances of a Chamber Music Quintet, an Opera Chorus and Interpretive Dancers, alongside Carleen in the leading role.

This Folk Opera style is rooted in Carleen’s early childhood memories of her Grandfather’s theatrical productions. His church members created costumes from rags and scraps to actualise Biblical themes he directed for their performance participation. From the age of seven Carleen would composed music for her Grandfather’s adult choir. Influenced by the combined-genre vocal stylings she listened to from the voice of her classically-trained Juilliard Scholar Aunt, Bettye Faye Anderson, who was also a much sought after Gospel singer during the 1960s Civil Rights movement before her death in 1970, this work blends generations of music art and literature.

Fast forward to now, she brings to life her vision of a fresh approach to dramatic music storytelling.

The ultimate goal of this work is to expand upon traditional music genres to create a combinational platform that existing and future music storytellers can use to express their creative artistry.