Peter revives the role of Paul in the Czech premiere of Ann Cleare’s The Little Lives at New Opera Days Ostrava.

In a Scottish town there is a small pleasant garden. From sunrise to sunset it is unlocked and available as a quiet place for contemplation. One morning four people come to the garden – a local elderly woman, Sarah, a young Englishman on holiday, Paul, and an Irish-German tourist couple, Andrea and Thomas. A strange man, Parkwächter, who is also in the park, locks them in the garden without giving a clear reason why, leading them to make their own assumptions. Tensions rise and truths, pains and desires surface. The work explores the impact of powerful propaganda at a domestic and national level, the tensions between gender and gender roles, the underlying stability of human needs and comfort, the frustrations of young people in the UK, and the progressive and regressive roles of national identity.

The Little Lives

Opera for five singers and chamber ensemble, 2020–22

Music: Ann Cleare

Libretto: A.L. Kennedy

Conductor: Bruno Ferrandis

Stage design: David Bazika

Costume design: Marta Roszkopfová

Director: Jiří Nekvasil

Performers:

Christopher Robson, countertenor (Parkwächter)

Peyee Chen, soprano (Andrea)

Peter Brathwaite, baritone (Paul)

Truike van der Poel, mezzo-soprano (Sarah)

John Pumphrey, tenor (Thomas)

Ostravská banda

Czech premiere, 90’