Glyndebourne: Open Fund for Organisations
Glass Human – A New Chamber Opera
A NEWLY COMMISSIONED CHAMBER OPERA COMPOSED BY SAMANTHA FERNANDO WITH WORDS BY MELANIE WILSON, EXPLORES THE EXPERIENCE OF LONELINESS.
Three isolated voices find their way towards each other, charting a journey from emotional and social fragmentation to connection and meaning. Rooted in three contemporary experiences of loneliness – a young woman finding her identity, a refugee searching for stability and an older man living with grief and cognitive decline – the work explores the forces that separate us from each other and the threads we follow to join back together again.
Starring three soloists and members of the Tour Orchestra, this new chamber opera will be performed in the intimate setting of Glyndebourne’s Jerwood Studio plus in venues in Canterbury, Liverpool, Milton keynes and Norwich during the Glyndebourne Tour season. Samantha Fernando has worked with numerous ensembles including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Riot Ensemble, The BBC Singers, LOD Muziektheater (Ghent), Silbersee Vocal Ensemble (Amsterdam) and The London Sinfonietta. Her music has been performed at festivals here and abroad such as Aldeburgh Music, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Sounds New, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, York Late Music, Lake District Summer Music and The Oxford Lieder Festival.