Uncut, January 2001

Bibliography   72 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UK & Ireland weeklies UK & Ireland magazines UK & Ireland newspapers US newspapers US rock magazines US music magazines US magazines US alternative weeklies European magazines European newspapers Canada  •  Mexico  •  Asia Australia  •  New Zealand South America  •  Africa Blogs  •  Fanzines  •  Books Online publications — Puck Art, Let's Dance No one expected Elvis Costello to spend his entire career re-writing "Pump It Up," but his latest project - composing the orchestral score for an Italian dance company's adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream - is his most surprising departure yet. Jens Christensen Earlier this year, Elvis Costello received an invitation to attend a performance by the Italian ballet troupe, Aterballeto, whose artistic director Mauro Biaonzetti had wanted to discuss with Costello the possibility of his participation in the company's forthcoming adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. As he would later tell me, Costello had at that point very little understanding of the world of dance, but was absolutely captivated by the Aterballeto company's grace and dynamism. There was, therefore, no doubt in his mind when Bigonzetti formally asked him to collaborate on the project. He was happy to take on the commission. The musical score for the ballet was written over the summer, after close consultations with Bigonzetti and his associate Nicola Lusuardi. "Every aspect, from the dramatic outline and choreographic intention to the stage design was examined in relation to the musical content. I then returned home to Dublin to write and orchestrate each scene in the production," Costello would subsequently recall. At the end of October, he was back in Bologna. Europe's Capital of Art 2000, to complete orchestral rehearsals and to promote the ballet. I met him the night before the production's world premiere in the studio of the Italian live music shows. Roxybar and Help. He was in typically talkative mood, keen to explain how he approached the challenge of writing for a dance company and why he would never tour again with The Attractions. Describing his disappointment at the commercial failure of Painted From Memory, his collaboration with Burt Bacharach, Costello also talked frankly about his estrangement from the musical mainstream, his strained relationship with the music business and why he hasn't made an album for four years. Remainder of text to come. Uncut, No. 32, January 2001 Jens Christensen interviews Elvis Costello. Images Pages 78 and 79. Pages 80 and 82. Page 84 and cover. Photo by Stefan de Batselier. Photo by Brian Liu. Photo by Justin Thomas.

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