Lewis Murphy & Laura Attridge

Since meeting at the Royal College of Music in 2013, composer Lewis Murphy and writer Laura Attridge have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting young creative partnerships on the opera scene today. Successful artists in their own right, they share an approach to making work that combines a deep appreciation for the operatic tradition with a love of innovative forms of music theatre in its broadest sense. Together, they aim to bring to the stage stories which respond directly to the modern world and are accessible to a diverse audience. They are particularly interested in making socially conscious work that seeks to ask questions of its viewers.

Their portfolio together already includes numerous works for the stage: most recently, Paper and Tin, a children’s opera commissioned by English Touring Opera (2021/2) which explores themes of personal identity, storytelling, relationships and gender stereotypes; A Different Story, a commission from the Royal Opera House to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ROH Youth Opera Company, which premiered in the Linbury Theatre in 2019; Then to the Elements, a 15-minute piece for solo mezzo-soprano and youth chorus, premiered by Scottish Opera (2018) as part of their Opera Sparks showcase; a bespoke aria for one of the exceptional young artists of the National Opera Studio, entitled ‘Howell’s Decision’ (2018), taken from the imagined opera Keeping the Light, which premiered as part of project 12.40; Belongings (2017), commissioned during Lewis’ time as Young Composer-in-Residence at Glyndebourne, which juxtaposes the stories of a group of present-day young refugees and a group of WWII evacuees; First Date, a 5-minute pop-up opera commissioned and premiered by Sound Festival in Aberdeen (2017); Damsel/Wife/Witch, an interdisciplinary piece exploring gender norms through fairytale for two actors and mezzo-soprano, premiered by And So Forth in 2015; and Now, commissioned by Tête-à-Tête Festival and the Royal College of Music as part of new opera project Hogarth’s Stages in 2014. Laura and Lewis’ latest opera commission is a new one-act opera for Leeds Youth Opera, entitled ARC23, set to premiere in 2022.

Lewis and Laura are also keen writers of song and other works for voice. 2020 saw their innovative song project, Notes From Isolation, launched online, with performances from singers including Nicky Spence, Natalya Romaniw and Dame Felicity Lott. 

For more information, media and reviews, see their PROJECTS page.