A powerful musical memoir will commemorate the life of soul singer Aretha Franklin this month with First Nations musicians coming together to eulogize the iconic singer's life.
Premiering at the Sydney Opera House, the music memoir titled Aretha: A Love Letter to the Queen of Soul will honour the legacy of Franklin through a night of soulful storytelling and music.
The performance will showcase 32 songs and spoken narration and will chart the Queen of Soul's career from her early gospel roots to her legendary hits.
Directed and narrated by Larrakia, Yanuwa, Bardi and Wardaman actor Jada Alberts, Aretha will also feature Gumbaynggirr and Yamaji singer Emma Donovan, Burarra and Serbian singer and writer Ursula Yovich.
Alberts said they were one of the last creatives to come on board the project but was thrilled to be involved as they are "obsessed" with Franklin.
"As soon as I heard that these five incredible singers had been assembled and that their production team were looking for someone to direct and come up with a different way of performing these songs...I was really intrigued about how to do that," they said.
"As soon as I got across all of (Franklin's) world, I was like this is a no-brainer, this is something that I haven't done before.
"It was this great challenge but also this deep admiration for the music, my love of Aretha and for the artists that were already involved."
Alberts said as a First Nations person they were able to connect to Franklin through some similar experiences within the entertainment industry.
"Things are still not easy for people of colour, especially in the entertainment industry, it might look rosy from the front but we're still dealing largely with big problems still," Alberts said.
"When you put on Aretha Franklin's music, you hear that political element to her work.
"At that time in the 60s what was happening in Black America had such a significant impact for us over here too, and those two movements spoke to each other.
"And absolutely, you can't help but feel an affinity with that."
In terms of the performance, audiences can expect a colourful, vibrant evening full of Franklin's best hits.
Alberts said as they discovered more and more of Franklin's music, it became a mission to select which songs would be included within the two hour Opera House performance.
"Unfortunately we couldn't squeeze more in but the Opera House said no it's just got to be two hours," they said.
"(Franklin) had such an extensive catalogue I'm still discovering new songs.
"I hope the audience learns something new and I hope they leave having heard the voices of some incredible artists of colour that are in the show and that inspired them to go and listen to their music as well as going home and putting Aretha on."
Aretha: A Love Letter to the Queen of Soul will show at Sydney Opera House June 17, 18.
The show will also travel to Queensland Performing Art Centre on June 20 and 21 and to Arts Centre Melbourne on July 2.
