COMPOSER Tim Benjamin will stage the world premiere of his new opera Madame X at Todmorden Hippodrome next week.

Benjamin attracted worldwide acclaim last year with his opera Emily, about the suffragette Emily Davison’s fatal act of protest at the Epsom Derby a century ago, and his new work for stage explores the darker side of the art world.

“As far as we can tell Emily was the first opera in Todmorden’s history, and national newspapers were writing about it,” said Londoner Benjamin, who has made Todmorden his family home. “People from all over the country travelled to the area, and I was even on BBC World Service talking about it.

“With the spotlight on our theatre next week, people will discover, I hope, that you don’t need to go to London to find opera – the one-art form that includes almost every other art-form – done to a terrifically high standard.

“We are taking Madame X to London instead of the capital bringing it to us – and I think it’s wonderful.”

Benjamin moved north to escape the capital’s rat race several years ago, restoring a Victorian house on a hillside, and admits that the Calder Valley continues to act as a great inspiration to his work.

“Working as a composer is never straightforward, but the Calder Valley is the perfect place to write with its mixture of countryside and industry,” he said.

“There’s inspiring landscape, peace and quiet, and a great amount of top quality music and drama and that’s reflected in the culture because it is an incredibly vibrant area.”

Benjamin explains that Madame X takes its musical inspiration from the Italian operas of Handel, and from the Jacobean revenge plays.

“People sometimes say to me, ‘Do I have to get dressed up to go to the opera? Do I wear a bow tie?’ “I say, ‘Do you heck. Dress like you’re going to a football match.’ Opera is a collective experience, just like going to the game.”

The Madame X story features all the plotting, ghostliness, madness and catastrophe expected from the Jacobean influence.

“It is full of dark and light, tragedy and comedy, with a strong set of intriguing characters,” he said.

“There are many familiar musical reference points, though, transformed and combined to a new, exciting work for the opera stage.”

Benjamin insists that there is a level of enthusiasm, hunger and pride in the Calder Valley arts world that you would struggle to find in the urban sprawl of London.

He said: “There are some exceptionally fine classical yet broad-minded musicians in Todmorden. Not only that, there are plenty of interesting venues here, from the atmospheric Unitarian Church to the beautiful Hippodrome to the historic town hall.”

Benjamin won the BBC Young Musician of the Year prize when he was just 17, but his musical background is diverse.

He loves to play trombone, a spot of jazz, and once played bass in a punk band called Monkfish.

“As an occasional trombonist I soon joined the brass band scene in Todmorden – a new experience for me – and found more familiar territory playing for nearby swing bands and symphony orchestras, in particular the terrific Todmorden Symphony Orchestra.

“It seems a lot easier to have an idea in Todmorden and see it through than it is in London. I love living in the town.”

n Madame X will premiere at the Todmorden Hippodrome Theatre on August 21.