Dublin-born Jennifer Walshe is one of the world’s most bold and imaginative contemporary classical composers, and holds the prestigious post of professor of composition at Oxford University. Whether it is Barbie dolls or recipe books, the mundane and strange materials of life are central to Walshe’s work. Now, for the Irish National Opera, she is developing a major new work set on Mars. Walshe’s opera will respond to astrophysics data, Martian meteorites, trashy sci-fi, eco-anxiety in young people, and tech billionaires’ obsession with conquering space. Broadcaster Katie Derham tracks Walshe as she launches into the project, with months of immersive intergalactic research.

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