When Roxanna Panufnik and I began to think about Dalia back in 2019, we knew the topic of the refugee crisis would only become more crucial. We had no idea, of course, that the situation would be so much more terrifying by the time the premiere was upon us.
The spark had come from Karen Gillingham, our director and Garsington Opera’s creative director of learning and participation. She had worked on a project four years ago, Dare to Dream, which linked local children, including refugees, with others in Uganda, Bangladesh and Syria, and she was eager to continue connecting and engaging young people across the globe in intercultural dialogue. She suggested the topic of the refugee crisis and we needed no further encouragement.
