Woman at the Window: 11am

Composer Tom Lane and director Ben Barnes have collaborated on a new music drama piece entitled Woman at the Window: 11am which was inspired by the Edward Hopper painting 11AM. ‘In the painting 11AM we see a woman completely naked except for her shoes, sitting in a comfy chair and staring outside, elbows on knees, hands together in anxiety, not in prayer.’ (www.meer.com)

Lane and Barnes recently held a workshop at the National Opera House, Wexford to test the material which involved the soprano, Natasha Jouhl, the baritone, Brendan Collins and the repetiteur and pianist, Rebecca Warren. A short promotional video of elements of the work in progress was also filmed by Michael Duggan in the course of the three day workshop. Lane and Barnes will now approach opera companies with a view to staging the work in 2025/6 in co-production with Four Rivers.