Cancer affects everyone. We have all lost family, friends, friends of friends, or friends of family, or family of friends to this indiscriminate disease. Cancer even has its own language - one of fighting battles and losing or winning; one of silence and euphemism. The beauty of Debussy's scores, with their swirling undercurrents of tragedy, the balance of hope and joy with deep pain seemed, are the ideal vehicle for an opera about Cancer. And so, Hopes & Fears was born.

From the beginning of this project, we knew we wanted to make something truthful, that eschewed cliche. This is why we reached out to Shine Cancer Support. Shine connected us with the volunteers whose voices form part of the work and the language of the libretto. .

Initially we wanted to avoid writing a "sad" piece. However, to ignore the deep pain caused by Cancer would have been just as unjust as making the piece overly sentimental. The underlying theme of the piece with the strength that people find in family, friends and faith is at its heart. Often funny and always stoic real voices add an intensely human and ironic dimension.

• Becca Marriott, Artistic Director