The Chevalier

Performers

• Matthew Kofi Waldren conductor
• Braimah Kanneh-Mason violin
• Chukwudi Iwuji actor (Joseph Bologne)
• Merritt Janson actor (Marie Antoinette)
• David Joseph actor (Mozart)
• Bill Barclay actor (Choderlos de Laclos)

In this unique piece of concert theatre, four costumed actors are joined by members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and friends to present Bill Barclay’s 'The Chevalier'.

Conducted by Matthew Kofi Waldren, and featuring the exciting rising star violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason, the work tells the fascinating life of Joseph Bologne – an 18th-century Black composer, virtuoso violinist and friend of Mozart and Marie Antoinette – more commonly known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Alongside his incredible musical talents, The Chevalier was an acclaimed fencer, a general of Europe’s first Black regiment and an active campaigner for the abolishment of slavery. Almost forgotten in history, his story is bursting to be told.

This presentation of Bologne’s finest music is interspersed with dramatic and comedic dialogue reflecting on the true nature of equality.