This week, I held a sharing of three new pieces of work. It was the culmination of my DYCP research project into writing libretti for opera. I created a translation of an existing text (Parigi O Cara from La Traviata), a replacement text which tells a brand-new story using existing music (The Jester and the Princess to music from La Cenerentola), and a new commission with a composer (Oh Stevie, Why Am I Doing This?) and all were performed on Tuesday.

The rehearsals were absolutely lovely, confirming once again that it's my favourite part of the process - bringing everything to life as a team. I had a plan to experiment a little with my team and try out a few theatre techniques. Opera has not historically invested time in building the infrastructure to support new work and, as such, there is not a universally recognised method of doing so. I decided to borrow a few things from the theatre world to see whether they were effective in opera spaces, and I was pleasantly surprised. By taking the time to "unit" the songs, and assign actions to each unit, we built a really solid framework to jump into the staging. I'm glad of this because normally I will plan out a lot of staging for opera, which doesn't always feel like the most collaborative option.

Also, taking a moment to praise my team. I worked with Valerie Wong, Tomos Owen Jones and Phoebe Tak Man Chow, all of whom were a delight. Our wonderful photographer, Victoria Davies, commented on what great chemistry we all had, considering how new our team was to working together. Because they came into the room with open minds, I believe we were able to create much more interesting work and potentially find more effective ways of doing it.

"Faded Glamour" was the theme which connected all three pieces. In La Traviata, Violetta is desperately ill and no longer enjoying the finer things in life. In The Jester and the Princess, Gregory takes on an "Aladdin" style function where he is excluded from the world of the elites due to social status. Oh Stevie, Why Am I Doing This tells the story of Barbara Clutton-Brock and her quest to maintain an increasingly crumbling house as a tribute to her late husband.

I'm so proud of each of these stories, and my learning throughout the process. I have come away fired up by the possibilities of new opera, and the role I can play in that process.