21:00-21:45, Saturday 26th September 2026
Online
Music: Ruvin Meda
Words: Luz Wollocombe (after Oscar Wilde)
Livestream followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A.
Enjoy five world-premiere 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.
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.
Ruvin Meda composer
Luz Wollocombe (after Oscar Wilde) librettist
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