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Robin Clewley
Composer Dr Zakiya Leeming teamed up with Oxford immunologist Professor Paul Klenerman to tell a story of vaccines past and present in Dangerous Matter, an opera performed for the first time at the Royal Northern College of Music on 24 June. A major output for the Thanks for the Memories public engagement project following the success of engagement with schools across Manchester and Oxford last year, Dangerous Matter explored the remarkable but overlooked story of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who championed the early practice of inoculation in 18th-century England.
© Robin Clewley
After surviving smallpox and witnessing its devastating effects, Lady Mary made a startling discovery on travels to Turkey with her ambassador husband: there, smallpox was curbed due to the widespread practice of inoculation, the purposeful infection of a patient with smallpox to produce a hopefully mild and controlled case of the disease. In letters to her friends back in England – with these own words incorporated into the opera libretto throughout – Lady Mary insisted she was ‘ready to war’ on return to England with any physician who doubted this preventative medical practice – whether that be because of its Turkish origins, because it was practiced by ‘ignorant women’, or because this low-cost measure would risk the steady income from established, but ineffective, interventions. Her campaign led to series of public inoculations – including that of her daughter, the first patient in England to be inoculated – and trials that laid the groundwork for the development of the modern vaccine.
Interweaved into Lady Mary’s story in Dangerous Matter was cutting-edge vaccine research into how the body remembers past infections – from reflections by Prof. Klenerman which opened the performance to the musical animation of the behaviour of lymphocyte cells. The opera asked thought-provoking questions about memory, resistance, and the power of cooperative action – at a crucial moment where both communicable diseases and scientific scepticism are on the rise.
© Robin Clewley
Dangerous Matter was composed by Zakiya Leeming, with Sam Redway Wells as Director and Dramaturg and Melvin Tay as conductor. Mezzosoprano Rosie Middleton starred as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, alongside a compelling cast of RNCM student singers.
Prof. Klenerman was delighted to see this part of the Thanks for the Memories come to life: “It’s been a privilege to work on this project with Zakiya. It’s also been wonderful to see how the ideas have progressed from the early concepts, via the outreach work with schools, to the final amazing piece performed at the RNCM in Manchester last week.”
Dr Leeming further reflected on the value of innovative interdisciplinary public engagement: “The past three years working with Paul on this collaborative project have been incredibly rewarding. From creating a new opera on the theme of immune memory together with a dedicated cast and creative team, to working with school students in Manchester and Oxford writing their own original work inspired by immunology, this project has involved the creativity of so many. I'm grateful to everyone involved and hope projects like this continue to make space for creative interdisciplinary work.”
© Robin Clewley