Holly Willoughby’s WYLDE MOON and ENO present an immersive night to ignite the senses

Holly Willoughby’s WYLDE MOON, in collaboration with English National Opera (ENO), presents a night to awaken all of the senses, featuring Andy Bell and La bohème. An immersive, multi-sensory event to celebrate the launch of WYLDE MOON’S first personal fragrance… (borrowed from) The Wild. An Invigorating, elegant scent, (borrowed from) The Wild is inspired by the magic of Mother Nature, to capture the evocative aroma of a wild country garden after rainfall – available from the 8th February 2022.

Talking about the idea behind the collaboration, Holly says, “I fell in love with the opera on my first ever visit over 13 years ago. I had no idea what to expect. What I learnt is that it is for everyone, and for me when I come, life seems to switch off and I become immersed into a world that takes over all senses. Going to the ENO is similar to meditation for me. It’s the perfect place to reconnect. I’m always mesmerised by the controlled freedom that opera has – powerful voices that helped me to reconnect with my inner voice and not be afraid to express it. Opera signifies that for me in life.

La bohème begins with the blowing out of a candle, just as WYLDE MOON was created with a candle – there’s synergy there that brought the whole idea together.

Andy Bell was the only person for the job. Such an incredibly talented musician and opera lover – who better to curate and compose the music for the night. To create a reworked aria and duet to sit alongside something that’s already perfect is not an easy task. I’m so excited for the world to hear the magic that Andy has created.”

Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter, musician, record producer, DJ and now composer, Andy Bell (Ride / GLOK / ex-Oasis), will exclusively perform a new work he’s produced based on Puccini’s classic masterpiece. The reworked aria and duet was created especially for the occasion, with Andy’s performance on the 23rd February featuring cast members of La bohème and a 48 piece orchestra.

Andy says, “Bohemian culture is about pushing against the norm, breaking free of it. The push and pull between straight culture and bohemian culture is how I’m framing the music. I’ve established the music one way and the orchestra and singers will wrestle that from me – the push and pull and strengths between two approaches. But there’s an irony to it as well. It’s two different takes on what bohemian means – for me, freedom and abandon is about amplified sound and how I use it, the freedom of using electronic instruments and all the amazing sounds you can make. But maybe for the orchestra and cast, it’s about a different kind of freedom, freedom from being in standard tempo, or a standard volume. Opera is very free in those ways and it makes rock music / conventional electronic music feel very constricted in that sense. So, to me they are the true bohemians.”

The ENO’s iconic production of La bohème forms the setting of this immersive event. Updating opera’s greatest love story to 1930s Paris, this is a sepia world where artists rub shoulders, creativity flows and love blossoms. Puccini’s epic score will make your heart soar and your soul shout, but tragedy is just around the corner for the bohemian friends and lovers.