Celebrate IWD 2022 with Lost and Found

St. Pancras International celebrate International Women’s Day with live performances from Royal Opera House

In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022, thousands of shoppers, commuters and visitors to St. Pancras International enjoyed Lost and Found – a series of mini operas commissioned by The Royal Opera House, based on public submission and created by all female composer and librettist teams.

Throughout IWD, the performances were presented in collaboration with Casco Phil, Europalia and Curated Place, improving the visibility of female creatives and offering visitors an insight into the world of opera.

The pop-up performances took place at the Eurostar Terminal, National Rail Service departure boards and beneath the station’s iconic statue ‘The Meeting Place' and explored themes of time, motion, meetings and farewells.

Angelique MacDonald, producer for the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme (JPYA), said:

"It has been a privilege to read the personal stories that were shared with us for this project, and watch them inspire seven new works in different styles and approaches. Opera is an innately human art form and it’s hugely exciting to be able to perform such relatable work at St Pancras International."

Wendy Spinks, Commercial Director at HS1, said: "In partnership with The Royal Opera House, we are delighted to have commemorated an important day in such a unique way. As a destination connected to music and arts, we continually look for ways to support the industry, as well as ways to make our visitors smile as they shop, explore, meet friends, or simply travel through the station. We hope our visitors enjoyed recognising their own travel experiences through these wonderfully curated performances.”

Some thoughts from commuters and visitors...

Ariane, [a regular commuter travelling from Paris to Edinburgh], said:

"I enjoyed that it was all a surprise – because I just came off a train and saw a group of people, and didn’t know what to expect. Was it just piano or something else? Then I waited and this beautiful act of singing and storytelling happened right in the middle of the station’’ – Ariane asked what it was for, and learnt that it was a celebration by the Royal Opera House for International Women’s Day.

Sally and Steven, travelers from Albuquerque, New Mexico also said:

"We heard about this this morning on the television – we were on the bus and decided to jump off to catch the opera here at St Pancras International!"

More information on the Royal Opera House website