Georgia Jamieson Emms Photo: New Zealand Woman's Weekly
Jayne Tankerley as Janet Frame and Anna Leese as the fictional nurse Katherine Baillie in the New Zealand Opera film 'The Strangest of Angels' Photo: Minerva Productions, Photo by Kirsty Griffin
Georgia Jamieson Emms is librettist for The Strangest of Angels, a contemporary chamber opera inspired by a pivotal event at Seacliff Psychiatric Hospital in the life of New Zealand writer Janet Frame.
The opera, with music by Kenneth Young and featuring Jayne Tankersley as Janet Frame and Anna Leese as the fictional nurse Katherine Baillie, had performances in Christchurch and Dunedin in 2022.
It’s now been made into a film which has its New Zealand premiere screenings at this year’s NZ International Film Festival.
Georgia spoke with Bryan Crump about how the project came about.
