woman.life.song in Birmingham

woman.life.song is a 45-minute song cycle with a 19-piece band, commissioned from me by Jessye Norman in the late 1990s. It's the kind of piece that, for practical reasons, comes around once in a blue moon. Therefore it's typically astonishing that Birmingham (specifically Birmingham Opera Company ) is about to host six performances over the bank holiday.

And typically of BOC, this is a thoroughly imaginative recreation, featuring two soloists (wonderful Gweneth Ann Rand and Madison Nonoa) and a fairly huge chorus, who give welcome punctuation points to a very big score. At a dress rehearsal last night, I thought the orchestra under Alpesh Chauhan sounded particularly fine in a warm but clear church acoustic.

The shows on Saturday, Sunday and Monday take place in St Martin's in the Bull Ring Church. One of Brum's thrilling sights is the way this sizeable building rears up out of the iconic shopping centre (pictured). I would normally say, it's also super-convenient for anyone arriving at New Street Station to see the show. But because of railway repairs, much needed of course, multiple trains in and out of Birmingham won't be running during the days of the public holiday (with a bit of RMT industrial action mixed in.) Nevertheless, a notable weekend in the history of woman.life.song.