Living with dementia magazine May 2010

Scientists and artists have been working together to produce a new opera exploring the experiences of dementia

An opera about old age and dementia is beginning its tour across England and Wales this month. The Lion's Face is the result of a collaboration between The Opera Group and the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College, London.

It tells the stories of the main character Mr D's experience of dementia, as well as those of his wife, his caregiver and her daughter, and the clinical psychiatrist.

When carrying out research, the production team visited people with dementia, carers and several health professionals in different settings. Librettist Glyn Maxwell, who has worked with composer Elena Langer before, says, 'We learned a lot from people in the fight against dementia when researching this project.

'The story is about a man with dementia who is trying to make sense of a confusing world. He is still able to communicate but doesn't recognise his family anymore, but the focus isn't just on him. It's about what the others go through. Mr D is the only one with a spoken role; the others all sing.

'It's also about society moving from a position of not knowing about dementia to a gradual understanding. This crack in the door is what I wanted the daughter to represent - the public's not knowing and trying not to think about dementia.'

Felicity Callard is senior research fellow within the stakeholder participation group at the Institute of Psychiatry*. She has been liaising with the Opera Group on developing the story, and has supported people with dementia to share their experiences as part of the research.

She says,

'It was very important that the team went and visited people in care homes and in clinical settings so they could understand the range of symptoms related to dementia. We've got the voices of people with dementia, professionals, carers and nurses in this story, and the libretto beautifully manages to weave these different narratives together around the main character.

'There are some quite complicated emotions in all of the characters, and the audience is allowed into their moving interactions with Mr D.'

Artistic Director John Fuljames says,

The opera is very specifically about dementia and takes account of many different perspectives. In tackling a subject like this, we all felt a huge sense of responsibility. It's very easy to represent all doctors and patients with these characters, but actually they're all individuals and the person with dementia is just one man. We can't deal with the universal.

'We had an overwhelming sense that the story people wanted to tell us was a huge part of their experience of life. It's a truthful experience and one that we hope will enhance understanding. Of course people can read about the condition and get the bare facts, but this offers something emotional for people to reflect on.'

Professor Simon Lovestone is Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry. He says, 'I'm really excited to have worked with The Opera Group on this project. What really captured my imagination was the opportunity to work with some artists who were interested in reflecting aspects of the disease we might not have otherwise thought about, back to clinicians and scientists.

'I think this use of poetry and music will help us to look at Alzheimer's disease in a different way and will energise my colleagues and I in our battle with this devastating disease.'

The tour starts in Brighton on 20 May, and will move to Oxford, Newcastle, Watford, Cardiff, Cheltenham and London. For more information on these dates, please visit thelionsface.com There is no general phone number but the individual venues are listed on the website.

*The Stakeholder Participation group is based at the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health, South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.