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BabyO

This is an example of an original composition sharing new insights into opera for the very young. BabyO is ‘an opera for babies aged 6 to 18 months and the adults that come with them’, composed by the researcher and co-created with Katherine Morley; the researcher also directed early performances.

BabyO draws on recent research in early years development to create a 30 minute performance specifically tailored to the cognitive abilities of its target age group. Babies and their parents sit within a specially-designed set, and a non-narrative story evolves in a highly interactive performance that consists of purely vocal sounds. A 5* review in The Herald explains: ‘It unfolds like a living picture book where, instead of the usual noises – the cartoon quack-quackery and so forth – the soundscape is altogether more subtle and sophisticated’.

It has been in continuous production by Scottish Opera since 2010 and has toured Scotland twice; an indication of the reach and significance of its impact may be given by the further performances it has received at the Manchester International Festival, the Spark festival, Leicester, the Norwich Festival, the Southbank Centre, Christchurch Arts Festival NZ (2011 and 2013), and in tours to Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. It has also featured on BBC Radio 2’s 'Chris Evans Breakfast Show'.

Drury has followed up this line of research with SensoryO, an opera for children aged 18-36 months (with a version for older children with additional support needs). Like BabyO, this is securely rooted in current understandings of child development; it is also in production by Scottish Opera.