Ulla's Odyssey

Olivier Award-winning OperaUpClose presents fun, feisty and family-friendly new opera.

Fourteen-year-old Ulla is attempting to become the youngest person to sail the world single-handedly in her trusty sailing boat ‘The Homer’, with only her cat Binnacle to keep her company as she navigates the high seas.

All is not plain sailing, as our heroine encounters mythical creatures and obstacles on her journey, including Cy-ops, a one-eyed, over-keen robotic customs official, and Sylla, a dangerous sea creature whose body and mind have been horribly twisted by radioactive rubbish dumped into the ocean.

This new opera is an enchanting nautical fantasy by New Zealand composer Anthony Young and Canadian librettist Leanna Brodie, directed by OperaUpClose’s Associate Director, Valentina Ceschi (The Elixir of Love and Dido & Aeneas) and designed by Faye Bradley (Linbury Prize Finalist 2013).

Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey and real life teenagers Lara Dekker and Jessica Watson; this show includes live music and puppetry, an inspirational heroine, playful references to classical literature and pop culture, and a strong environmental message.