Page 68 - FINAL_Theatre of Sound Coverage Book

• How much inspiration have you had from Béla Bartók’s original
interpretation?

The plot of Bartok’s opera and the Theatre of Sound reimagination of
the 7 rooms in the opera as 7 chambers of the mind, has influenced my
new chamber opera, ‘Tomorrow’s Wonder…A Window into Our Lives’,
composed with Lesley and Paul Stretton-Stephens, a couple living with
dementia. Our new opera shares stories from the life of Lesley and
Paul, weaving together their musical memories with moments of
personal significance from their lives, almost like a musical memory
box.

• What do you enjoy most about composing for voice?

I think that the human voice has so much expressive potential. I also
love exploring the relationship between music and language. All of the
libretto for our new chamber opera is written with Lesley and Paul, with
the exception of the central chorus which sets lines from 16th century
poet, Sir Edward Dyer’s poem, ‘My Mind to me a Kingdom Is’. I also
believe that vocal music can bring together diverse audiences. With this
new work we have challenged opera as an elite form and worked with it
instead as an ideal form for bringing together artists, art forms and
diverse groups of society.

• How does it feel to see your music unfold in a live performance and
also to see the positive effects the co-creative process has had on
the family living with dementia who you have been working with?

It has been exciting to see the piece coming to life in rehearsals. Lesley
and Paul attended our first rehearsal last week on Zoom and it was
incredibly rewarding to see their joy at hearing the piece come to life.
They mentioned that working on this project has given them a greater
sense of purpose. It has been inspiring for me as a composer to
witness firsthand the benefits that creative participation can bring to
people living with dementia. We can challenge perceptions of dementia
through co-creative work, celebrating the agency and imagination
which exists within everyone, regardless of age.