Dalia Garsington Opera July 2022

Set and costume designer

“Anyone - you, me, everybody - could be Dalia : Garsington’s refugee community opera”

A new "People's Opera", co-created and performed by 180 amateur & professional participants, about a refugee Syrian girl who triumphs over adversity to follow her dream: a story which champions diversity through music to highlight what makes us all human.

Dalia, a new opera by composer Roxanna Panufnik, librettist Jessica Duchen and director Karen Gillingham, was commissioned by Garsington Opera to engage local participants of all ages from diverse backgrounds, with professional and emerging artists for new audiences in a creative community opera.

The opera, premiered in the summer 2022, is an original story, developed in close consultation with refugee organisations, sports charities and practitioners. The central character, Dalia – a young girl of 12, arrives in Britain as a refugee from Syria having lost her family in traumatic circumstances. Fostered by a local family, she discovers a passion for cricket. She follows her dream but must contend, however, with racism from the community, battle her demons and make an impossible decision.

Photos Craig Fuller Photography