Fresh thinking

Supported by SkyArts and Arts Council England, I spent autumn and winter 2012/13 working on an extraordinary sight-specific production of Monteverdi, L'Orfeo. Working alongside director Daisy Evans, we devised a production geared towards engaging a new generation of opera-lovers. Daisy's concept was to transport the audience completely into Orfeo's world, by immersing them in the theatre but by also putting them into a sound world heard through wireless earphones.

The challenges of reconciling this technology with four hundred years worth of inherited operatic convention was huge, particularly when it came to the music. We were in agreement that in order for it to succeed, it had to be musically as good as any production that you might see on a conventional stage, but also, the technology had to enhance the musical and dramatic qualities.

Through huge amounts of research and development, careful pre-recording and the extraordinary talents of the singers, dancers, musicians and crew, we created a really wonderful piece of theatre.

Listen to excerpts from L'Orfeo on the Media page.

You can read my thoughts on this musical experience at www.ideastap.com.

See a video that captures some of the spirit of the show at Sky Arts.

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