The Royal Opera House Celebrates International Women's Day With Performance At St. Pancras International

Today, International Women's Day 2022, thousands of shoppers, commuters and visitors to St. Pancras International enjoyed Lost and Found - a series of mini operas commissioned by the Royal Opera House, based on public submissions and created by all female composer and librettist teams.

Performed throughout IWD, the operas were presented in collaboration with Casco Phil, Europalia and Curated Place, improving the visibility of female creatives and offering visitors to the iconic London destination bite-sized experiences of this amazing art form.

The pop-up performances which took place across the station's Grand Terrace and main concourse explored themes of time, motion, meetings and farewells. The Royal Opera House commissioned the performances following an open call from its Jette Parker Young Artists Programme (JPYA).

Angelique MacDonald, producer for the JPYA, said:

'It has been a privilege to read the personal stories that were shared with us for this project, and watch them inspire seven new works in different styles and approaches. Opera is an innately human art form and it's hugely exciting to be able to perform such relatable work at St Pancras International.'

Ariane, [a regular commuter travelling from Paris to Edinburgh], said:

'I enjoyed that it was all a surprise - because I just came off a train and saw a group of people, and didn't know what to expect. Was it just piano or something else? Then I waited and this beautiful act of singing and storytelling happened right in the middle of the station.' Ariane asked what it was for, and learnt that it was a celebration by the Royal Opera House for International Women's Day.

The operas included Georgia Barnes and Olivia Bell's Everything you carry, and Rose Hall and Katie Colombus' It's The Little Things at the Eurostar Terminal; Laura Reid and Oge Nwosu's Detritus at the National Rail Service departure boards; and Sarah Lianne Lewis and Sophia Chapadjiev's The Parting Place, Joanna Taylor and Kerry Priest's I just wanna be (in Center Parcs), Anna Braithwaite and Kerry Priest's The Hardest Journey, and Victoria Bernath and Teresa Howard's Mini Break beneath the station's iconic statue 'The Meeting Place.'

Singers included the Royal Opera House's Jette Parker Young Artists April Koyejo-Audiger, Thando Mjandana, Chuma Sijeqa, Blaise Malaba and Egor Zhuravskii, joined by Siân Dicker, Milly Forrest, Sam Marston, Zahid Siddiqui and Jamie Woollard. Accompanying them were players from Belgium chamber ensemble Casco Phil, whose Artistic Director Benjamin Haemhouts devised the project itself.

Sally and Steven, travelers from Albuquerque, New Mexico also said:

'We heard about this this morning on the television. We were on the bus and decided to jump off to catch the opera here at St Pancras International!'

Wendy Spinks, Commercial Director at HS1, said: 'In partnership with The Royal Opera House, we are delighted to have commemorated an important day in such a unique way. As a destination connected to music and arts, we continually look for ways to support the industry, as well as ways to make our visitors smile as they shop, explore, meet friends, or simply travel through the station. We hope our visitors enjoyed recognising their own travel experiences through these wonderfully curated performances.'

More information on the Royal Opera House website.