Tanja is 39 years old and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer growing behind her vocal cords in 2020. One week after diagnosis her voice box was removed during the Covid Pandemic. This piece charts her journey recovering from life changing surgery complicated by social distancing and isolation. Having trained initially as a professional actor/singer she is exploring how voice loss impacts her daily life as mother of two young children, her relationships, identity at the school gates and the stigmas attached to being a woman with a laryngectomy. The piece is for Tanja and professional soprano.

Installation clip:

Soprano: Lucy Crowe
Voice: Tanja Bage
Violin: Marianne Haynes
Cello: Nick Trygstad
Piano: Hannah Conway
Music: Hannah Conway
Words: Hazel Gould
Sound design: David Sheppard
Video design: Luke Halls
Sound production: Andrew Mellor / Brett Cox