Out of the Ruins

stage work for youth chorus, mezzo soprano and orchestra
2014

Duration 10’
Instrumentation 6-part youth chorus (unbroken voices) mezzo-soprano, orchestra (also available in chamber version)
First Performance 25 February 2015, The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
The youth company of the Royal Opera House, Louise Winter (mezzo), Tim Murray (conductor), the orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Libretto by Kate Kennedy
Directed by Suzi Zumpe
Commissioned by The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Further Performances
30/31.5.15 Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, Royal Opera House Youth Company, members of the orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Southbank Sinfonia, with Louise Winter mezzo-soprano, Jessica Cottis conductor
Charlotte has a worldwide, exclusive publishing agreement with Birdsong
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A timeless fable set in a devastated earth, Out of the Ruins tells the story of a forlorn group of children struggling to survive in a grey and broken city. Perhaps made desolate by war or natural disaster, this is a bleak, dangerous world. Sad, bitter and without hope, the children have grown up in this unforgiving wilderness. In their desperation for food and money they begin to harass a lonely, old woman searching through the ruins of a building. She has nothing for them apart from pockets full of acorns that she has collected amidst the rubble. Willingly she gives the children the acorns and encourages them to plant them – trusting that our world may flourish once again. With a powerful message that we can change the world we live in if we care enough, happiness and hope finally shine through. The forest teems with new life and the children look forward to a brighter future.