CREATIVE TEAM
Crystalla Serghiou
Composer
Crystalla Serghiou is a Greek-Cypriot composer, conductor, pianist and singer whose music crosses classical, popular and contemporary styles. Selected for the 2026 Royal Philharmonic Society Composers programme, she has written for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and National Youth Choir.
Her works include The Stepford Wife, a concerto for jazz-scat singer premiered by Emma Smith and Britten Sinfonia, and SALT, an orchestral evocation of Cyprus written for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She founded Queens of Sound Orchestra, championing musicians of minority genders, and teaches composition and musicianship at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior Academy. Collaboration and bringing different musical traditions together are central to her work.
Carole Hayman
Librettist
Carole Hayman is a writer, director, producer and filmmaker whose work spans theatre, radio, television, fiction and opera. She co-wrote the much-loved BBC Radio 4 comedy Ladies of Letters with Lou Wakefield, starring Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge and subsequently adapted for television.
A former Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre, Carole directed numerous world premieres and was the first woman to direct for Joint Stock Theatre Company. Her books include The Warfleet Chronicles, Hard Choices and Legacy. Her opera The Hive, with music by Harvey Brough, grew from her research into women who commit violence and was presented in partnership with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2025.
Daisy Evans
Dramaturg (October R&D)
Daisy Evans is an award-winning director and writer working across opera, film and theatre. Her production of Bluebeard’s Castle won the 2023 Royal Philharmonic Society Opera Award and earned her the Dora Award for Best Director. Her production of L’Olimpiade received an Olivier Award nomination in 2025.
Her directing credits include Madama Butterfly for Irish National Opera, Il viaggio a Reims for Oper Leipzig, Albert Herring for Scottish Opera, and Trouble in Tahiti and La Voix humaine for Buxton International Festival. Daisy founded Silent Opera, creating immersive productions that have toured internationally, with collaborators including English National Opera, British Youth Opera and Beijing Music Festival.
Helene Mathiesen
Producer
Helene Mathiesen is a London-based producer working across opera, theatre and new music. Her credits include Pelléas et Mélisande at the 2026 Aldeburgh Festival for Britten Pears Arts, and productions with Gothic Opera including Die Rheinnixen (Battersea Arts Centre), Maria de Rudenz, Rip Van Winkle and Der Vampyr. Other producing credits include Not Saint Hildegard (Bound by Theatre), It’s in the Air! (Hope Mill Theatre), The Language of Flowers and Folk Tales.
With a particular interest in new work, interdisciplinary collaboration and socially engaged practice, Helene has produced and developed new opera projects including The Hive, developed in collaboration with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and presented at The Tung Auditorium, and The Rain Show, a participatory children’s opera created through UK–Kenya collaboration. She is currently developing further new opera projects and international partnerships through her recently launched CIC, Across Arts.