A Buxton International Festival Production
Step into the future of opera with Shorts, where four brand new compositions come to life in one evening.
Created from scratch, BIF has commissioned seven award-winning writers and composers to create four 20-minute operas. Expect an evening of engaging, original story-telling from artists whose credentials include the BBC, Opera North, Channel 4, Netflix and whose achievements include Ivor Novello and Sunday Times Playwright Awards. Each performance offers a new perspective on opera, bringing together compelling narratives and a diverse range of musical styles, which blend the traditional with the modern.
Watch this video, filmed during a residency at Opera North, to find out more about the project.
Inevitable
It’s a countdown to the end of the world. But that’s someone else’s problem…Would you spend the rest of your life turning the crank, or are you only delaying the Inevitable?
Composed by Carmel Smickersgill (Nominee Ivor Novello Award 2020, Winner Rushworth Composition prize), with libretto by Josh Overton (Sunday Times Playwright Award Winner).
Life Gets Stretched
20 years in 20 minutes. A couple meet, fall in love, and marry. But life is long and people change, will their bond prove strong enough?
Composer and librettist Martin Green (winner Ivor Novello Award 2021, winner BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards).
Disorderly House
1927, a private party in Fitzroy Square. Sensational dancer Bobby Britt entrances his guests with Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils, but the entertainment crashes down when the police raid.
Composed by Jasper Dommett (Ivor Novello Nominee 2020), with libretto by Jessica Walker (Oper Leipzig, Wigmore Hall, Opera North, Royal Exchange Theatre).
Tears Are Not Meant To Stay Inside
Tears Are Not Meant To Stay Inside is an ancestral ritual of healing and release. Nomvula feels displaced and invisible in her life. She goes to a Traditional Healer to cure her unsettled spirit.
Composed by Thanda Gumede (whose appearances include Opera North and the BBC Proms), with libretto by Zodwa Nyoni (writer for BBC, Channel 4, Netflix).
Director Marcus Desando makes his Buxton International Festival debut having worked extensively in South Africa (directing credits include Dido and Aeneas, Carmen, La Bohème, and Rigoletto). Rebecca Meltzer returns to the Festival following her success with Mansfield Park in 2022, and with an impressive set of directing credits under her belt (Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, English Touring Opera, Welsh National Opera, amongst others). With designs by Elliot Squire (BIF’s La Canterina and The Boatswain’s Mate, 2024), these productions promise an evening of fresh creativity and inventive performances.
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience new voices in opera.
Sung mainly in English, with surtitles.
CREATIVE TEAM:
Marcus Desando and Rebecca Meltzer Directors
Elliott Squire Designer
Alex Musgrave Lighting and Video Designer
Berrak Dyer and Paul McKenzie Music Directors
Alex Chisholm, Emma Jenkins and Sasha Milavic Davies Dramaturgs
