Adrian Kelly, BIF’s Artistic Director introduces ‘Shorts’, an innovative new opera project for 2025.
Shorts is all about the future of opera. While opera remains a captivating experience for those who have already discovered it, there is no question that audiences are declining. And while many of the works that are most cherished by opera lovers hark back to the past, all companies that produce opera have a responsibility to look to the future.
Shorts combines the conventional process of commissioning an opera with a talent development programme. We have selected a total of six writers and composers to produce four short operas of twenty minutes between them. The creative process is already underway. Together we will develop the pieces in a series of workshops, the first of which has already taken place.
At the heart of this mission is our desire to bring opera to new audiences. Alongside this, we are also excited to bring fresh creative forces in the shape of composers and writers who may not have been exposed to a great deal of opera, but come with their own diverse range of styles in sources of inspiration.
At the first workshop we asked the question: “what is opera?” For some it was about grandeur, for others about intense emotion. Following the workshop, one thing was abundantly clear. As with every art form, opera is constantly transforming. With Shorts we will push the boundaries of style and form, but I am also sure that we will tell stories which resonate with a modern audience: stories that make us think and make us wonder at the expressive power of the human voice.
We will continue to update you on the progress of Shorts as it takes shape over the coming year, with possibilities for audience members to see inside the process of creating a new work. I hope you will join us on the journey.
Adrian Kelly
Introducing the Artists
Zodwa Nyoni
Zodwa is a Zimbabwean-born playwright, screenwriter and director. Her plays/films have been produced and screened in Europe, Africa and North America. She’s a writer on Netflix’s spin-off series, CASTLEVANIA: NOCTURNE and is currently a Lecturer in Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Carmel Smickersgill
Carmel is a composer and performer based in Manchester. After studying at the RNCM with Gary Carpenter, she has had a varied freelance career in music: working in theatre, writing for concert halls and touring with bands. She was a 2020 Ivor Novello Nominee, recipient of the Rushworth Composition prize (Liverpool Philharmonic) and releases music with PRAH recordings.
Jasper Dommett
Jasper is a current PdD composer and 2023 Mendelssohn Scholar. Their passion lies in creating works around queer history, encouraging a space for these stories to be heard. Their Ivor nominated work Disco! Disco! Good! Good? written for the Riot Ensemble, pays tribute to the queer ballroom culture that emerged during the disco era.
Jessica Walker
Singer-writer Jessica Walker specialises in the creation of genre-defying performance. Her recent writing commissions include Opera North/Leeds Playhouse, Brighton Festival, and a new opera for Oper Leipzig. Three of her performer-writer shows have been critic’s pick in the New York Times, during runs at Brits Off Broadway. She is also a lecturer at Royal Academy of Music.
Josh Overton
Josh Overton is a Playwright and Theatre-maker whose passion for language and lyricism can be found at the heart of all his work. Collaborating as a playwright with theatres and companies up and down the UK and as a poet with the Loud Poets of Edinburgh. Winner of the Sunday Times Playwrighting Award 2015, Josh was recently accepted onto the Writers Guild of Great Britain New Commission Scheme.
Martin Green
Martin is a multi-award-winning musician and Ivor Novello winning composer. As a member of Lau he has won four BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for Best Group. Raised in a family of folk musicians, he has gone on to make multi-media work that has toured across the globe. Currently under commission with National Theatre of Scotland.
Thandanani Gumede
Thandanani (Thanda) is a vocalist and a multi-disciplinary artist who draws inspiration from his dual Zulu and Xhosa heritage amalgamated with Jazz, Neo-Soul, Gospel and other contemporary styles. His notable appearances include his performance at the first ever Nelson Mandela Day, officiated by the UN; at Buckingham Palace for the Royal Family; at the 150th BBC Proms; and as part of Opera North’s BAME Resonance residency.
MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF OPERA IN THE UK
Since the announcement, many Friends of BIF have stepped up to join the Shorts Syndicate. Syndicates are groups of opera-lovers who come together to support productions and receive special updates and invitations throughout the development of the pieces.
We invite you to join them with a gift in support of the development of Shorts for BIF2025. For more information about joining the Shorts Syndicate and the benefits you will receive, please contact jacky.wershbale@buxtonfestival.co.uk or call 01298 70395.
Shorts is an important and significant element of Adrian Kelly’s vision to reposition BIF and, in particular, Buxton’s Pavilion Arts Centre as a place where bold and innovative new works are presented that showcase emerging talent – singers, musicians, composers, directors and designers – from across the UK. We hope you will join us on this journey.