A brand new chamber opera by Australian composer Damien Ricketson is among the highlights of Carriageworks’ 2018 programme. The new work, titled The Howling Girls, will be premiered by Carriageworks Resident Company Sydney Chamber Opera at the end of March as part of a season chock-full of bold experimental works from Australia and overseas.

“We are excited to be bringing an extraordinary Program of international works, new commissions and large scale works to Sydney,” said Carriageworks Director Lisa Havilah. “In 2018 we will continue to increase our investment into our Artistic Program and our support of Australian and international artists. We look forward to welcoming our growing audiences to experience our most ambitious Program to date.”

A collaboration between former Ensemble Offspring Artistic Director Ricketson, director Adena Jacobs and soprano Jane Sheldon, The Howling Girls is based on a real-life phenomenon that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. The work explores the visceral story of five young women who turn up separately at hospitals in New York with identical symptoms – unable to swallow, they believe debris from the attacks has lodged in their throats, but the surgeon who examines them finds...