Sydney-based Carriageworks is set to showcase the Australian premiere of artist Mette Edvardsen and composer Matteo Fargion’s Opera Essay “Penelope Sleeps” on March 10-11.

The performance will feature Edvardsen, Fargion, and Hicks as they explore the relationship between voice and music, space and scale.

“In ‘Penelope Sleeps’ the experimental approach and work with the format of the medium is still in question,” stated Edvardsen in a press release. “Rather than alluding to operatic images we think of drawing lines to trace a horizon. The text is written in prose form, like an essay. Essay, from the French essayer, means to try, to attempt. Opera in Italian means to work, to labor. In this attempt to work a space opens up, bringing the two artists into unknown landscapes while at the same time allowing them to pursue their own artistic paths.”

The performances are presented as part of Keir Choreographic Award Public Program.