Anne Dudley's Owl and the Pussycat

19 July 2012, 19:09 | Updated: 20 July 2012, 09:31

Composer Anne Dudley talks to Classic FM about how runcible spoons, turkeys, and inter-species relationships translate onto the opera stage - a floating stage at that.

It might not be set on a beautiful pea green boat, but Anne Dudley's new opera The Owl and the Pussycat is due to float through London's canals from 20 July. Based on the text of Edward Lear's nonsense verse, with a libretto by ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones, and set on a floating stage, it's bound to be an entertaining work.

Dudley sheds light on an interesting question. Why would an owl ever consider marrying a pussycat in the first place? And
why did a turkey conduct the ceremony?

Luckily she and Jones have created their 35 minute opera to add some background to Edward Lear's original characters. The bong tree from the famous poem even has its own solo aria.

"Every performance is going to be different, and we don’t know quite what we’re going to get until we get there," she said.

Listen to the interview with Anne Dudley