Art, Architecture and Baroque Voices Converge at Boston Manor House
Digital reimagining of historic monuments sets stage for an evening of song and lute
Left: Kieran White and Right: Daniel Murphy who will perform Sweet Oblivion
September 1, 2026
Boston Manor House will open its doors this autumn to Floating Architectural Spaces, a new exhibition by the artist duo Alec & Franz, running from 12 September to 25 October. Their work, which sits at the intersection of architecture, visual art and opera, transforms meticulous line drawings of historical buildings into immersive digital environments. The pair share a fascination with the ornate drama of the Baroque era and use contemporary tools to reimagine architectural monuments as fluid, sensory experiences.
Many of the buildings that inspire their work hold personal significance for the artists, including the opera house in Cremona, where they collaborated with British tenor Kieran White on the 2023 premiere of La Musica e la Ragioni dell’Anima. That performance has now been reinterpreted as part of the exhibition, becoming an audio-visual installation that allows visitors to step inside the atmosphere of the original production. The exhibition coincides with the Open House Festival 2026 and will be open Tuesday to Sunday from midday until 5pm.
As part of the programme, Boston Manor House will host a recital titled Sweet Oblivion on Sunday 13 September at 7pm. Kieran White, who has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, will exchange international opera houses for the intimate surroundings of the historic manor. He will be joined by lutenist Daniel Murphy for an evening of seventeenth-century song exploring themes of love, sleep and silence through music from Italy, France and England.
Kieran White is widely acclaimed for his expressive connection to text, particularly in Baroque and early repertoire. His recent engagements include debuts with the New York Philharmonic and Teatro Real in Madrid, as well as recordings of Lully’s Atys with Les Talens Lyriques following performances at the Opéra Royal de Versailles and the Konzerthaus in Vienna. His operatic roles span Monteverdi, Cavalli, Handel and Vivaldi, and Opera Magazine described his solo show in Cremona as a masterclass in Baroque affect. In the coming season he will make his debut at Teatro La Scala and at the Royal Opera House in a new production of Rameau’s Les Boréades. Alongside his international career, he continues to perform Bach’s Evangelist roles with ensembles across Europe and balances his musical life with time spent on his family farm in Dorset.
Daniel Murphy, who specialises in Baroque and Renaissance lute, theorbo and other historical plucked instruments, brings a deep commitment to historical accuracy to his performances. Appointed Historical Lute Professor at the Royal College of Music in 2026, he has become one of London’s most sought-after young continuo players. His work spans solo performance, chamber music and collaborations with ensembles across the UK and Europe. He is a core member of the Bellot Ensemble and co-founder of the award-winning Flutes & Frets Duo, whose recordings have received international acclaim. Murphy has won major competitions including the International Solo Lute Competition organised by the German Lute Society and the La Risonanza EMSA Competition, and he will record his first solo album in 2027.
Alec & Franz’s collaboration brings together Alec Boreham’s architectural research and graphite drawing with Francesco Vitali’s multidisciplinary practice in photography, art direction, stage design and filmmaking. Their work has evolved from designing opera productions, including Castor et Pollux at the Warsaw Chamber Opera, for which they received the Jan Kiepura Award, into independent artistic research that explores how architecture can be deconstructed, suspended and reimagined. Floating Architectural Spaces invites visitors to experience familiar monuments in unfamiliar ways, dissolving the boundaries between the tangible and the imaginary and between the permanence of architecture and the fleeting nature of performance.
Tickets for Sweet Oblivion are available online priced at £21.68 including booking fee. The exhibition runs until 25 October and forms part of a wider season of cultural events at the historic site.
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