The Gardeners - a new chamber opera by Robert Hugill and Joanna Wyld
'A beautiful piece, beautifully performed' - Seen and Heard International
After its triumphant premiere at Conway Hall in June 2019, Robert Hugill and Joanna Wyld's chamber opera The Gardeners returns for a further performance at the Garden Museum, the UK's only museum celebrating British gardens and gardening.
'Quite a feat! ... It lingers in the memory' - Classical Source
Inspired by a newspaper article, The Gardeners is set in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in a war-torn country amongst the family of gardeners who look after the cemetery, The Gardeners treats the themes of tolerance, remembrance and brotherhood using the garden as a metaphor for the possibility of growth and renewal.
'Hugill's music has a moving serenity and stillness' - Opera Today
The graves belong to the Dead, who once invaded the land in which they lie. Tensions rise between three generations of the same family who look after war graves in a politically divided region.
'A composer of discernment, imagination and drive' Tempo Magazine on Robert Hugill's When a Man Knows
You can read a selection of reviews at The Gardeners website, where there is also a selection of Robert Piwko's photographs of the event: