Sir George Benjamin's Picture a day like this (world premiere)

The Aix-en-Provence Festival is known for creating events that get the classical music world buzzing, and the 2023 edition brings us the world premiere of British composer Sir George Benjamin's new opera, Picture a day like this! An event of this magnitude calls for an all-star cast: Marianne Crebassa et Anna Prohaska perform the two lead roles in this fourth collaboration between Benjamin and dramaturge Martin Crimp (the same partnership that gave us the sensational Written on Skin, also in Aix).

Picture a day like this recounts the story of a woman bereft at the loss of her baby, who is told that she has a chance to restore her infant to life: "Find one happy person in this world and cut one button from their sleeve. Do it before night and your child will live." After a series of initially promising encounters end in disappointment, can she pull off the miracle she needs? Find out in this fable about human nature, a tale of self-discovery where the flow of music—performed by the excellent Mahler Chamber Orchestra, marking their 25th anniversary—follows the flow of life.

Photo © Jean-Louis Fernandez