ALEXIA PENIGUEL
SONGWRITER + LIBRETTIST



Ursa Minor. Karima El Demerdasch and Biqing Zhang. Milton Court Studio Theatre, London, June 2024.
Photo: Zoe Birkbeck for Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

WORK
Ursa Minor
2024 Libretto for chamber opera with four singers
Composer: Zygmund de SomogyiSynopsis
On the edge of a dark forest, grief and puberty are having their way with teenage Arthur. Heartbroken over the loss of his dog and enraged at his parents’ attempt to sugarcoat her death, Arthur runs away into the woods. Meanwhile, a young bear cub struggles to comprehend a terrible loss of its own. Amidst the trees, the two must come to terms with their shifting sense of self, and a harrowing decision must be made as Arthur’s mothers get closer to finding them. 
open libretto  

old logic
2024 Text for one singer
Composer: Darius Paymai
A piece written in consultation with composer Darius Paymai, soprano Harriet Cameron and pianist Jungyi Cao about the unreliability of memory and how to reconcile what fades as time passes. The live performance further embraces fragmentation.
open lyrics
Trio
2024 Text for one singer
Composer: Reuben Esterhuizen
A piece written in consultation with composer Reuben Esterhuizen and mezzo-soprano Hella Termeulen. The text originates from the overlap of our  different cultural heritages and commonalities in slang.
open lyrics
link to video
Slowly
2022 Text for two singers
Composer: Moritz Sembritzki
A vignette about climate breakdown that doesn’t specifically reference climate breakdown. I was drawn to the image of a person lying in bed, languidly tracing cloud shapes in the sky, oblivious to the water rising around them even as their bed begins to float. 
open lyrics
link to video
Kick & Rise
2019Text and music for layered voice and saxaphone
Composer: Alexia Peniguel
Written for avant-pop project Alex St Joan, this piece is inspired by the intense underwater pressure of the ocean and draws parallels between the weight of water and the expectations of others. 
open lyrics


link to video
Eden 2.0
In progressLibretto for chamber opera with five singers
Composer: William Gardner
An opera about utopia, second chances and human fallibility.
Holding On To Wonder
In progressText and story for two singers
Composer: Moritz Sembritzki
A concept album about art, wonder and female rapport.
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