Contemporary, relevant and hard hitting: a new chamber opera, The Gardeners

The Gardeners, the new chamber opera which I have written with Joanna Wyld, debuts in June at Conway Hall. The conductor is William Vann, who is founder and artistic director of the London English Song Festival, and musical director of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. We recently caught up with William to find out his first thoughts about The Gardeners and its premiere.

'I am delighted to be conducting the first performance of Robert Hugill’s new opera The Gardeners on 18th June 2019 at Conway Hall. 

It is a tightly written, dramatic new chamber opera that will be performed with a top ranking, young cast of singers from a variety of backgrounds. The subject matter of the piece is particularly contemporary, relevant and hard-hitting, with a superb libretto by Joanna Wyld. The scoring is innovative, dynamic and flexible. This is an excellent new work that I hope will enter the modern opera repertory and receive many more performances.'

You can read more about The Gardeners at the opera's website 

William Vann and the London English Song Festival are presenting the first full performance in London since the 19th century of Hubert Parry's oratorio Judith at the Royal Festival Hall on 3rd April 2019. William Vann conducts the Crouch End Festival Chorus, London Mozart Players and soloists Sarah Fox, Kathryn Rudge, Toby Spence and Henry Waddington, further details from the Southbank Centre website.