The National Opera Studio Will Perform PERDITA in December

The National Opera Studio is set to present the world premiere of scenes from Perdita, an unpublished opera by British composer Dorothy Howell (1898–1982), on 3 and 4 December 2024.

The exciting discovery of this work – Howell’s only known operatic work – offers an extraordinary glimpse into her approach to drama and narrative. The performance marks a renewed interest in her work, and more broadly, in the contributions of early 20th-century British women composers, whose legacies have long been overlooked.

The manuscript, dated July 1917, was unearthed by writer and historian Dr Leah Broad in a dusty box at Howell’s former home in Worcestershire. Based on Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, the beautifully handwritten score includes a duet between lovers Perdita and Florizel, followed by a lively crowd scene leading to a ‘Dance of the Shepherds and Shepherdesses.’

Lasting around 10 minutes, the performances in December will bring to life music that was probably not performed during Howell’s lifetime and which has remained hidden for over 100 years. It is not known why Howell composed this work, nor if this excerpt is all that was written, or if a complete opera exists that is yet to be found.

As a young graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Dorothy Howell was launched into the limelight with her symphonic poem Lamia, which was premiered at the 1919 Proms. It so impressed Sir Henry Wood that he featured it five times in the season, and then repeated it in five more seasons. Howell was lauded by critics and earned the nickname "The English Strauss." This marked the start of a promising career, during which she composed more than 130 works. Despite her early acclaim, however, she faced increasingly harsh criticism – especially as a woman composer in a male-dominated field. The negative press took a toll on her and she faded into obscurity. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in her work with multiple new recordings, books and performances.

Broad’s research for her recent book Quartet: How Four Women Challenged the Musical World, which focusses on Dorothy Howell alongside three other pioneering female British composers of the early twentieth century, led her to the discovery.

Dr Leah Broad said, “This amazing little work gives us a fascinating insight into what this ferociously talented young composer might have been as opera composer. It shows her emerging style in the lead up to her most famous work, Lamia, and reveals how much we still have to discover about British music of the period. Many more British composers were attempting opera in the first decades of the twentieth century than we probably realise.”

Eric Melear, Artistic Director of National Opera Studio, said, “We are enormously proud to present the world premiere performance of this fascinating operatic excerpt from Dorothy Howell’s Perdita. Her music lyrically evokes Shakespeare's characters and is a rare demonstration of how this talented composer brought text to life through her own distinct and vivid voice. We are indebted to Dr Broad for her discovery of this hidden gem of early 20th-century British music and are honoured that our Young Artists can play a historical part in celebrating the legacy of women composers whose contributions to opera deserve to be celebrated and explored.”

Young Artists of the National Opera Studio give the world premiere performances on 3 & 4 December in a selection of operatic scenes inspired by Shakespeare, directed by Keith Warner.

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