Uprising (2023)

Lola refuses to go to school. Overwhelmed by the loss of the rainforest, she can’t see the point of school if there’s no future. Sitting alone outside the school gates, she is mocked by her classmates and the townspeople. But encouraged by activists she meets online, she persists, and gradually fellow pupils start to join her strike. They soon find themselves part of a global movement.

Lola’s mother has won a new contract that threatens the local ancient woodland, whose loss may have catastrophic consequences. She is on a collision course with her daughter. What will the future hold?

Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis' new community opera looks at the climate emergency through the eyes of those whom it will affect the most – the young. From teenage rebellion to the connective power of the internet, family dynamics to business ethics, it asks searching questions on an issue that should unite us all. How do we cast our eyes beyond the here and now? What is the most effective form of protest, and are we listening carefully enough to those that do? April De Angelis’ lyrical, witty words are matched by Dove’s urgent, impassioned music for a drama that melds the everyday with fantasy, laced with humour, honesty and warmth. Above all it gives a persuasive voice to the principal players in this crisis – young adults, and nature itself.