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smaller companies which did go down that path, notably Irish National Opera with its 20 Shots of
Opera, a series of newly commissioned five-minute pieces.

There were several pointers towards adventurous small-scale work: Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle
reworked as a picture of dementia, Cabildo by Amy Beach at Wilton’s Music Hall, the American
Laura Kaminsky’s piece on gender fluidity, As One – all these provided challenging drama with
tiny musical forces. The keynote of the future is surely going to be flexibility. In a volatile world,
the big organisations with their heavy overheads will struggle to adapt quickly enough, and upstart
young companies will seize the opportunities provided by the changing situation. But one way or
another, opera is back to inspire and challenge us anew.