(Image credit to Shakib Uzzaman on Unsplash)

For the last couple of weeks, I have been working away on my latest libretto. I mentioned in "Trust - Part 2" that I was writing a chamber opera for the Royal Academy of Music, and that's been taking up a big chunk of my creative time over the last couple of weeks.

I'm learning a lot from this project because I get to write for multiple voices for the first time. In opera, polyphony opens up amazing opportunities to present several points of view at the same time. Working out how to share this, when my previous experience has been with much more naturalistic storytelling in theatre, has been a challenge but a great experiment.

I received notes from my mentor on my first draft, and I've been working on the edits. I've often said in the past that I don't consider myself a writer because I'm not the biggest fan of editing and refining my work. Once it exists, I'm quite happy to run with it and tweak as I go. This libretto pushed me to sit with it, pull it apart, and put it back together. I'm glad I did all that work, because it's definitely stronger for it.

All the chamber operas in this programme will have their first read-throughs on Thursday, and I'm really excited to hear how it sounds out loud. I also have never been to an opera read through, so I don't quite know what to expect. Will they talk over each other on every overlapping line? I'll let you know!