17:00-21:45, Saturday 26th September 2026
Online
Watch five short operas in one evening – book them all as a bundle, and then come to as many as you like in an epic evening of fantasy & fairytales.
Enjoy five short operas by Royal College of Music composers, brought to life by RCM singers and instrumentalists working with Tête à Tête. We’re delighted to bring our theatrical flair to the outstanding composers, singers and instrumentalists of RCM for our eighth biannual collaboration.
Each livestream will be followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A, chaired by Amanda Parker.
17:00-17:45: The Boy Who Went To Find Fear
Music & Words: Deniz Dortok
A mischievous boy, untouched by fear, leaves his hometown to seek it out. Along the way he meets bandits, a ghoul and a weary caregiver, and hears tales of a giant fish said to carry the earth on its back, its movements shaking the ground. Each encounter reveals a new kind of fear: comic, moral, drawing him toward a final awakening. When the fish stirs and an earthquake strikes his village, the boy learns that true fear lies not in danger itself, but in the weight of care and responsibility that follows.
18:00-18:45: Ogga Loggas
Music: Daniel Musashi
Words: Jacques Allen
Ogga Loggas grew from the tales and games composer Daniel’s friend Jacques’ father shared with him and his siblings when they were young. These vivid, mischievous cautionary stories were designed to wrap life lessons and laughter into lasting memories. At their core sits an environmental warning: if we do not look after our world, we risk repeating the mistakes of those before us, contributing to a cycle of climate change in which everything, from land to air to sea, is affected. Crafted from this family fantasy, the libretto joins an already living tradition of storytelling, set to music inspired by the theatrical electricity of 70s rock operas, prog-rock concept albums, a touch of glam-rock shine, and hints of Labyrinth-like fantasy – all in the hope that we might leave the world a little cleaner than we found it.
19:00-19:45: Three Lives
Music & Words: Asher Joyce
Iphigenia loves playing video games. It helps her escape from her mother’s new romance with gym-obsessed Trevor. But as she gets deeper and deeper into the levels of Killing Ground, reality slips further and further away. Will her mum snap out of it in time to save her daughter? Or will Iffy be forever lost to Killing Ground?
20:00-20:45: Ramona
Music: Lasha Kharkhelauri
Words: Sandro Tsikoridze
Ramona is a contemporary opera set inside a puppet theatre, where the story of two locomotive lovers unfolds alongside the life of the puppeteer who brings them to life. When the main puppeteer arrives late for the beginning of the performance, a hurried exchange with the theatre manager reveals that he plans to emigrate, making this his final show. The puppet play begins in Rioni, a small railway station in Georgia, where Ermon and Ramona say farewell before separating: Ermon travels to Siberia on a business mission, while Ramona joins a small travelling circus. Years later, during a circus performance, Ramona is asked to walk the tightrope. Seeing Ermon’s steam in the distance, she cries for the rope to be raised higher, loses her balance, and falls. Ermon rushes to her side, and in a final duet, they reunite and become a single pile of metal.
21:00-21:45: The Nightingale and the Rose
Music: Ruvin Meda
Words: Luz Wollocombe (after Oscar Wilde)
Oscar Wilde’s short story, The Nightingale and the Rose, follows a nightingale who sacrifices her life to help a young student in love. The girl in question has demanded a red rose, but there is none in sight. The Nightingale then pierces her heart with the thorn of an old rose tree, so that her blood turns a white rose red, while also draining her life. Alas, it is all in vain. Another admirer has offered the girl a superior gift: expensive diamonds. Wilde’s story explores various kinds of love. The nightingale giving her life without hesitation or expectation of reward highlights the quiet sacrifices nature makes for us. Meanwhile, the student’s failed foray into first love leaves him forever guarded against the promise of love. The story is a testament to all the love in the world that goes unappreciated, unseen and, perhaps most sadly, unwanted.
Chair: Amanda Parker
Amanda Parker is an award-winning arts consultant, and columnist for theatre news publication The Stage.
She’s led award-winning campaigns across education, broadcast, arts and culture – including as Director of the London Short Film Festival and Editor of Arts Professional magazine.
As CEO of Inc Arts UK, the national collective which from 2019 – 2022 Parker advocated for the creative, contractual and economic rights of the UK’s ethnically diverse arts sector workforce.
She is the Chair of the Mayor of London’s Cultural Leadership Board, a Trustee of the RSC and a Trustee of Intermission Youth.
Director: Bill Bankes-Jones
Conductor: Michael Rosewell
Designer: Sarah Jane Booth
Produced by the Royal College of Music in association with Tête à Tête
The Boy Who Went to Find Fear
Words & Music: Deniz Dortok
Meddah 1: Emma McClean
Meddah 2: Rachel Howe
The Boy: Bella Marslen
The Mother: Katy Reilly
The Tailor/Gulyabani (The Ghoul): Tom Law
The Mayor/Chief Bandit: Alex Hardy
Farmer: Tim Burton
Fisher: John Johnston
Doctor: Olivia Forbes
Village Elder: Ustinya Malinina
Caregiver: Ustinya Malinina
Villager: Tim Burton
Trapped Villager: Ustinya Malinina
Chorus: Olivia Forbes, Ustinya Malinina, Tim Burton, John Johnston
Ogga Loggas
Music Daniel Musashi
Original Story: Jacques Allen
Words: Ed Allen
Polly: Eden Shifroni
Sean: Anastasia Koorn
Woughta: Ustinya Malinina
Airie: Zhen Liu
Erfie: David Fraser
Three Lives
Words & Music: Asher Joyce
Iphigenia (‘Iffy’): Charlotte Kennedy
Mum: Anastasia Koorn
Trevor: Taining Zhao
Swordslinger: Tim Burton
Plunderator: Eve Kim
Megalotron: Alex Hardy
Chorus: Sarah Thomas, Rachel Howe, Yiran Shi
Ramona
Music: Lasha Kharkhelauri
Words: Sandro Tsikoridze
Ermon (Puppet): Archie Inns
Ramona (Puppet): Charlotte Kennedy
Puppeteer: Henry Godwin
Theatre Manager: Alex Hardy
Circus Clown: Yiran Shi
The Nightingale and the Rose
Words and Music: Ruvin Meda from the story by Oscar Wilde
The Student: Tom Law
Professor’s Daughter: Eden Shifroni
Nightingale: Bella Marslen
Green Lizard: Eve Kim
Butterfly: Sarah Thomas
Daisy: Aneska Diament
White Rose Tree: Zhen Liu
Yellow Rose Tree: David Fraser
Red Rose Tree: Taining Zhao