Conor Mitchell: Our Day

Gillian Moore chairs a discussion with Conor Mitchell, Mark Ravenhill and Oliver Mears.
Conor Mitchell: Our Day - short opera
Christopher Norby: The girl who knew she could fly - short opera
Ed Bennett: Jackie's Taxi - short opera
Interval
Deirdre McKay: Driven - short opera
Brian Irvine: May contain flash photography - short opera

Alongside their New Music 20x12 commission, Northern Ireland Opera presents four other new opera works by Irish and UK composers and librettists.

Our Day is a new opera set against a backdrop of events in Northern Ireland in 1972. That year, as well as being the bloodiest of the troubles, marked the gold medal win for local girl, Mary Peters. Her achievement at the Munich Olympics briefly unified a country at war with itself and created a much-welcomed respite from the daily cycle of violence. It also allowed the country to pause for a moment to cheer Peters to victory.

In 2012 it will be 40 years since that win. Mitchell and Ravenhill have created a gripping new music drama which tackles head-on the meeting of violence, hatred - and possible reconciliation.

'the youngest and feistiest of Britain's regional companies' - (The Independent on Sunday)

The evening also includes performances of four other short operas which had their premieres in Belfast in June - The Girl Who Thought She Could Fly by Christopher Norby and Frank McGuinness, Jackie's Taxi by Ed Bennett and Stacey Gregg, Driven by Deirdre McKay and Richard Dormer and May Contain Flash Photography by Brian Irvine and Owen McCafferty.