Lin Clayton is the author who is bringing to the stage her libretto of the grand opera,
O ITALIA! Ora e sempre, inspired by the adventures of the young rebel, Giuseppe Garibaldi.

In a story of valour and betrayal, murder and love, begin the trials and tribulations of the Hero of Two Worlds who will change the destiny of a nation, climaxing with the dramatic Hymn to Unity, O Italia! O Italia!

FROM THE AUTHOR

I am delighted to welcome you to my website and to share my work with you. The passion which spurred me during the years of writing O ITALIA! Ora e sempre, O ITALY! Now and forever, today spurs me with even greater enthusiasm to bring my opera to the stage.

 Tosca, La Traviata and Turandot are just some of the operas that I heard as a child and appreciated in my adolescence when my mother and I would attend the Sydney Opera House.

As an adult, this affection has grown and wherever I have lived or travelled opera always makes me feel at home.

Three years ago in Northumberland Avenue, in London, dining with friends, the conversation turned to the opening nights of important opera houses around the world. Jokingly, I said, “It would be easier to write an opera than obtain tickets for La Scala’s opening on St Ambrose night!”

Returning home, my own words echoed back to me temptingly and, my curiosity piqued, I searched the Internet for How to write an opera.The response was clear: Opera exists in all languages but the language of opera is Italian.

What a challenge!

It was a turning point in my life. In that instant I decided to learn Italian in order to write an opera libretto. The following morning, among the shelves of a bookstore in Covent Garden, I chose the Italian grammar book which would become my faithful companion during this enterprising and certainly audacious journey.

After two years work and so much interesting research, today I am proud to share with you the result of my passion, O ITALIA! Ora e sempre.

"O ITALIA! Ora e sempre" is a lyric opera in two acts which follows the adventures of the young Giuseppe Garibaldi from Russia to Italy and France. It was in a drinking den in the sleazy alleyways of the seaport of Taganrog that the twenty-five-year old swore eternal allegiance to the future Italian Republic and, in this remote realm, discovered his ardent passion for a young Russian countess with an unutterable secret.

RELEASE 2017

Lyric opera in three acts set in Venice's exuberant carnival of 1562. An important family and their palazzo, the fashionable Calli (Venice streets) and the Jewish ghetto, a rebellious heroine and her destiny!

RELEASE 2019

Lyric opera in three acts set in 1900s America. New York, Little Italy.

Tonight will preview the opera, Xabel’s Dream, by composer Juan Carlos Casimiro and librettist Lin Clayton. The performance will take place on stage in Plaza Mayor in Gijón, as part of the Arcu Atlánticu Festival. Xabel's Dream, of folk inspiration, will be performed by the Asturian Philharmonic Orchestra. Casimiro, head of the composition department of the Gijón Conservatory, and Lin Clayton, the Australian librettist, worked together on the opera.

London, today – ITALy in the headlines! 

Released in worldwide bookstores  O ITALIA! Ora e sempre, the new opera libretto by Lin Clayton.

The Covent Garden author, who lives between London and Milan, is bringing the life of the young Giuseppe Garibaldi to the stage in an adventure of humour and tragedy in the tradition of grand opera.

Miss Clayton, welcome to Agoravox. Your opera libretto is about a little-known Garibaldi, among other discoveries is that he was of French nationality, which will surprise readers, and that we first meet him in the shady alleyways of a distant seaport among ladies of the night. Tell us about that.

O ITALIA! recounts the ardour of the young Garibaldi, captain in the Merchant Navy, who is about to live the events that will shape his destiny. The story begins with an amusing encounter between the captain and Olga and Avdotia, two Russian prostitutes who try to persuade him to avail himself of their services. Garibaldi, however, is enchanted by the beautiful Nina, a young woman selling chamomiles. He will discover that she is a countess who has been excluded from the court of the Romanovs and who now seeks revenge. There follows a story of love and tragedy in the grand opera tradition.

These days, to write an opera is an original idea. What inspired you to choose this form of narration?

Three years ago, in Northumberland Avenue, in London, at a dinner with friends, we were speaking about the beauty of opera houses around the world when I joked, "It would be easier to write an opera than to have tickets for the opening night of La Scala!" Returning home, my curiosity piqued, I searched the Internet for How to write an opera. The response was clear: Opera exists in all languages but the language of opera is Italian. What a challenge! It was a turning point in my life. In that moment I decided to learn Italian in order to write an opera. It was this passion that gave life to O ITALIA! Ora e sempre.

Tell my readers about the cover of the libretto. It seems very interesting.

The cover represents Italy in the times of the opera. In 1833 Italy was not a unified nation but was divided into numerous warring kingdoms. Mazzini dreamed of an Italian Republic.

Before closing, would you give us an excerpt from the libretto?

As we began by speaking about Garibaldi and the two ladies of the night, let me give you their amusing meeting.

We look forward to seeing O ITALIA! Ora e sempre on stage soon.

Read the original in Italian...

4th June, 2015

It is my great pleasure to announce the release of my opera libretto, O ITALIA! Ora e sempre through AMAZON BOOKS worldwide.

LET THE MUSIC BEGIN!