Music: Max MitchellWords: Anonymous, translated by Henry A. Bellows From the texts that inspired Wagner's Ring cycle and Tolkien's Middle-earth, this song cycle "From the Edda" brings 10th-century Old Norse poetry to life. At its centre is the prophetess Völva, who tells us the gory details of how the world was created, as well as how it will be destroyed and born anew. Is the new world a beacon of hope, or a veiled warning? Moving between ethereal stillness and violent disintegration, the soprano shifts between English, Old Norse, and — in the climax of the cycle — language itself collapses into chaos. Receiving its world premiere at Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2026, this 25-minute cycle is performed by Kathleen Ferrier Award-winning soprano Eyra Norman and pianist Alexander Wigglesworth.

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