Upcoming Events
MY HEART SWIMS IN BLOOD
Bach and New Music with Lotte Betts-Dean
LSO St Luke's
4th November | 7.30pm
In the first of a series of baroque and contemporary music as Guest Artist as LSO St Luke's, we are joined by Australian mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, winner the 2024 Young Artist Award at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, and described by The Guardian as ‘a singer of rich and fearless versatility’.
Centred around Bach’s cantata Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199, the concert will feature three world premieres, commissioned by FIGURE in response to Early Music, from Alex Paxton, Lara Agar, and Oliver Leith, as well as more music by contemporaries of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Alex Paxton
Composer and improvising trombonist Alex Paxton makes music bursting with colour, mischief, and joy. Colliding jazz, electronics, and orchestral sound, his exuberant musical worlds combine dazzling virtuosity with emotional directness. His awards include the prestigious Hindemith and Ernst von Siemens Composer Prizes.
Lara Agar
Lara Agar makes acoustic instruments, electronics, and found sounds crackle with unexpected life. A composer and performer drawn to happy accidents and quiet chaos, she works across music, dance, and visual art. Her collaborators include Explore Ensemble and the London Symphony Orchestra, and her music has earned an Ivor Novello nomination.
Oliver Leith
Oliver Leith turns the everyday into something strange, tender and quietly overwhelming. An Ivor Novello Award-winning composer working across acoustic music, electronics, and video, he creates worlds rich in humour and heartache. His opera Last Days, adapted from Gus Van Sant’s film, premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2022.
Lara Agar Baby, Dali, Arcadia (Commissioned by FIGURE) for mezzo-soprano and ensemble
Alex Paxton Don't Worry (Commissioned by FIGURE) for mezzo-soprano and ensemble
Oliver Leith A different fantasie after Locke (Commissioned by FIGURE) for strings
Johann Sebastian Bach Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut BWV 199
Johann Christoph Bach Ach, das ich Wassers genug hatte
Dietrich Buxtehude Klag-Lied BuxWV 76b
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
Gluck's Masterpiece Reimagined
Stone Nest
23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th November | 7.30pm
Following the success of their recent production MOURN with Alkanna Graeca, FIGURE, in collaboration with Refound, return to present their new production, Orpheus and Eurydice.
The production stars Hugh Cutting, winner of the 2025 International Opera Rising Star Award and the first countertenor to win the Kathleen Ferrier Award, and is directed by Laura Hounsell, winner of the 2025 Nicky Creed Award at Garsington Opera.
In the ancient Greek legend, Orpheus travels to the underworld to rescue his lost love, Eurydice. He is granted the chance to bring her out of the afterlife and back to the world, but on the condition that he does not look back at her while he leads her. At the final moment, Orpheus can no longer resist the temptation, and turns to look at Eurydice, tragically losing her again, forever. The story has been told and retold through history, and has been a particular source of inspiration to composers - Orpheus is a musician, and he is able to persuade the gods to let him find his dead lover because his sorrowful songs are so beautiful. Christoph Willibald Gluck’s working of the tale, his 1762 Orfeo ed Euridice, marks a significant moment in the history of opera: a departure from a form in which a narrative serves as a vehicle to showcase music and vocal athleticism, to one which puts the music in service of the drama.
In the spirit of Gluck’s reform, FIGURE is reworking his opera into a new chamber version for mixed ensemble. By contemporising the story and the music, the opera is no longer an artefact of the 18th century but the modern drama which Gluck wanted to create.
Orfeo Hugh Cutting
Euridice Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Amore Anna Dennis
Stage Director Laura Hounsell
Movement Director Rebecca Meltzer
Creative Producer and Music Director Frederick Waxman
