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Richard Ayres' No. 61 (David) to Premiere at New Opera Days Ostrava

May. 29, 2026

Richard Ayres' 35-minute operetta for baritone and ensemble, No. 61 (David) will premiere on June 23 at Ostrava's Antonín Dvořák Theatre as part of New Opera Days Ostrava (NODO) 2026. The performance is led by conductor Marek Šedivý and director Michal Pěchouček and features bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood as David and violinist Conrad Harris as the Night Visitor with the Ostrava Band.

Ayres discusses his inspiration for the work, “My father, David, has dementia. When he is sitting in the chair by the window, he stares into the distance for long periods of time. This is not a passive gaze, his eyes flicker, his expression changes as if he is watching an in tense internal film. When I ask what he had been thinking about he answers with his usual apologetic ‘I don’t remember’. I decided to compose possible inner dialogues, experiences that we shared in the past that had grown in my imagination. For example: ‘Stars in the lake’– David sees stars reflected in water; ‘Birds’ – David sees a ‘multi-coloured aviary’, but in truth just Autumn leaves.”

Listen to Ayres' No. 30 NONcerto (2001/2003):


To learn more about Richard Ayres, visit schott-music.com.

Richard Ayres
No. 61 (David) (2026)
operetta for baritone and ensemble
text by the composer
Sbar., Cl. (dbl. bcl.), vln., vc., kbd., tapes
35'
Preview the score

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