Premieres + NEW WORKS
THE HIVE
BY HARVEY BROUGH
The Hive is a gripping semi-staged opera inspired by real-life cases of women who have committed serial murder. Set in the world of forensic psychiatry and dark fairy tales, it fuses verbatim interviews with a scorching operatic score and a dark sense of humour that runs throughout.
Created by writer Carole Hayman (drawing on research conducted during her fellowship at King’s College London), The Hive interweaves the true voices of survivors, families, experts, and perpetrators - including interviews from the infamous Rosemary West case. The title comes from the words of a forensic psychiatrist: “Women kill close to the home - or the hive, as you might call it.” These words echo through a work that challenges sensationalised tropes of the 'female killer' and explores the hidden traumas behind the headlines. Funny, unsettling, and often uncomfortably close to the bone, The Hive confronts our cultural obsession with women at the centre of crime.
Directed by Olivier Award nominee Daisy Evans, The Hive is a chance to experience opera like you’ve never seen it before. Daniella performs in this revival of The Hive on the 8th November 2025 at the Tung Auditorium, Liverpool with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
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SHENG-SHENG-MAN
BY JERRY YUE ZHUO
This composition takes inspiration from the titular poem Sheng-sheng-man by poetess Li Qingzhao (1084–1155, Song dynasty). The poem was written after the death of the poet’s husband, at a time when the Song dynasty was about to collapse due to foreign military invasions. While reflecting on the poet’s personal drama, my composition is a free interpretation rather than an accurate quotation of the poem. For one, the music uses only a selection of words and phrases from the poem and thus does not present the poem in its existing order. For another, I incorporate elements of my own musical language that are almost irrelevant to the poem’s narrative, especially Jiao-bei, the fortune-telling blocks used in my local Taoist religion, to create a musical space where it may be possible for my identity to interact with that of the poet. One of the composition’s main features, the fast reiterations of a single word (or musical note) was inspired by the poem’s famous seven-doublet opening phrase: Hsün hsün mi mi, leng leng ching ching, chi chi tsan tsan chi chi.
The 19-minute piece for large ensemble and soprano was successfully performed and recorded by the Pavilion Ensemble, featuring Yajie Ye (conductor) and Daniella Sicari (soprano). The premiere was part of Cardiff University's International Women's Day concert on 8 March 2024, tickets to which were sold out several days beforehand. This was the first public concert by Pavilion Ensemble in its largest formation (11 players). A professional recording session was done the next day on 9 March 2024, and the recording is now available on Spotify.
THE LEMON TREE CYCLE
BY PIERRE FLASSE
Moving Home was developed as a stand alone song for SongSLAM 2022. Since Daniella and Moran are Australian, we reflected on how the Australian accent changes compositional choices with different vocal nuances to consider. We decided to use the poem to promote Australian identity and reclaim a space for non-traditional accents within the artsong repertoire. Our initial process was highly collaborative, working back and forth to fine-tune the vocal part for Daniella’s voice and accent. We explored natural spoken Australian vowels and how they influence the song, such as slightly darker Ls and oo sounds more like french mixed vowels - for example, bloom [b l Y m].
The poet, Rod Moran, was incredibly excited by this work, and offered one more of his poems (The Lemon Tree). He has since also written us a final poem that could complete a song cycle (The River), telling the story of creating homes at different phases of life - in this instance, between Perth and Melbourne in Australia. These are a really exciting opportunity to explore Australian identity and reclaim a space for the nuances of the performed Australian accent within a primarily European space.
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The Lemon Tree was premiered at the 2024 Islington Festival with Daniella Sicari and Martin Andre. Moran then specifically wrote a new poem for us to complete the set. We are now looking to commission the final song to complete the cycle. Once it is finished, we will record and premiere the complete cycle. ​​
We often hear artsong in different languages. Even when it comes to English, we are familiar to hearing accents such as English (received pronunciation) and American. There are folk songs we hear with a Scottish, or Irish accent. But it is very unusual to hear artsong with an Australian accent. Often we associate Australian accents with a folk-like outback style song such as Waltzing Matilda (which actually is often sung with more of a RP accent) or Give Me A Home Among the Gumtrees (which is more likely to have a comical over the top Australian 'ocker' accent).
CLOSING TIME
BY ROSS FIDDES
Dementia never affects just one person; it touches spouses, adult children, whole families and friends. A person caring for someone at home is an increasing reality for many today, with one in twelve people over 65 living with dementia in the UK. During lockdown, Karin wrote a collection of poems, Closing Time at the Kings Head, reflecting on everyday situations and some of the feelings she and her husband experienced while living with dementia. Australian composer, Ross Fiddes, has set a selection to music in the staged song cycle, ‘Closing Time’.
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This staged performance shows how, in spite of the challenges, a care-partnership can embrace understanding, compassion and love, making the journey easier and better for all concerned. Fiddes’ music inhabits the words in such a way that the listener cannot help but be drawn into this moving and powerful piece.
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The world premiere of Closing Time was 9 September 2025 in New South Wales at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle. This performance was with Daniella Sicari Chris Allan and Tonya Lemoh with narration by Ghillian Sullivan. The UK premiere was in London at The Study Society on 29 November 2023 with narration by poet herself, Karin De Novellis, joined by Daniella Sicari, John Ieuan Jones and Nicole Panizza,
A MOST WANTED MAN
BY STEPHEN DAVISMOON
Set in Hamburg in the aftermath of 9/11, Stephen Davismoon's Chamber Opera 'A Most Wanted Man', tells the tale of an innocent young man on the run from international security services wishing to prove his innocence, seek asylum and build a safe future, to heal others. He seeks out an idealistic young lawyer to assist him in his search for the one man that can save him. It is a story of innocence in the face of overwhelming state power and where individual life destinies are altered forever.
The mysterious intrigue of the narrative, through a variety of digital technologies, will immerse the audience in ways seldom experienced before.
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This work is realised with support from the Arts Council of England, BBC R&D and in parternship with Liverpool Hope University, Middle Tennessee State University, Heritage Opera and IMMIX Ensemble. Cue to weather conditions, the premiere was moved to the Capstone Theatre at Hope University in August 2022.
LITTLE WOMEN
BY MARK ADAMO
​The UK premiere of an opera that has become a modern classic in the USA – “some sort of masterpiece” in the words of the New York Times. Composer Mark Adamo has adapted Louisa May Alcott’s evergreen coming-of-age novel, set around the time of the Civil War. Independent and ambitious Jo, her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy, their devoted mother, boy-next-door Laurie and studious Friedrich Bhaer are brought to life in music of open-hearted immediacy.​
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Daniella was part of the UK premiere at Opera Holland Park in 2022, performing the role of Young Beth in the quartet (onstage) and covering Beth, which she performed in the covers scenes performance. This was performed by the quartet singers, directed by Lysanne Van Overbeek and conducted by Scott Wilson. She was also part of the Western Australian premiere whilst she was studying at WAAPA in 2013 where she was in the quartet (offstage).
LOVE BYTES
BY STEPHEN PRATT
Lovebytes was composed between June 2002 and May 2003, although the third song is a re-working of part of a setting of Adrian Henri's Harbour which was first heard in 1987 at a concert celebrating Adrian's work. All three texts were passed to me by their authors to set, in the reverse order in which they appear in the work.
15 February 2023 brought a revival of Stephen’s 2023 work Lovebytes, sung by Daniella Sicari, with Ensemble 10:10 conducted by Clark Rundell. The event, at the Tung Auditorium in Liverpool, was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ensemble. The works heard at the concert will be broadcast on The New Music Show on BBC Radio 3 in the future.
THE ORPHANS OF KOOMBU
BY ALLAN STEPHENSON
The piece is based on The Secret Song written by award-winning author Michael Williams. First performed by Cape Town Opera to communities throughout South Africa, The Orphans of Koombu is all about oppression, uprising, euphoria and a new world order.
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Three travellers, Sticks, Sophia and Silas set out on journey to the mysterious town of Koombu. They meet a group of young people digging holes, who run from them in terror. Sticks discovers that the townsfolk are hiding a dark secret which threatens to destroy the town. The land responds to this betrayal of its youth by drying the rivers and springs. Can the three travellers inspire the orphans and bring harmony and healing to an artificially fractured society?
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The UK premiere was part of the 2019 Buxton International Festival. This project involved seven local schools from Derbyshire who each had their own show being the children's chorus. The book and lyrics are by Artistic Director of the festival, Michael Williams.
MUSIC FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE ART
BY ANDREW HAMILTON
In music for people who like art (2010) for voice and ensemble, Hamilton sets text from American artist Ad Reinhardt's '25 Lines of Words on Art: Statement' (1958). The phrase 'ART IS ART' is continually repeated, each occurrence with a change of dynamics, tempo and delivery.
Although not a premiere - Daniella performed this piece on the 23 June 2018 at the Royal Northern College of Music in the Carol Nash Recital Room with An Assembly, conducted by Jack Sheen.