Continuing a welcome run of innovative programming, West Australian Opera’s recent commission of a new opera for children is another feather in the cap for the company and represents a significant step in making opera accessible to young people.  Based on an illustrated book by Sher Rill Ng and set in the aftermath of the industrial revolution, Our Little Inventor tells the story of the brilliant 15-year-old Nell and her invention of a machine to clean the air of her polluted city.  Upon finishing her invention, Nell’s mother and grandmother, her two biggest supporters, encourage her to take her machine up to the big smoke.  Eventually she reaches the City Chambers, but the mansplaining mayor and his tin-eared councillors not only dismiss Nell, they also fail to see the city’s air as a problem in the first place. With the help of Mrs Livingstone Li, the council secretary and mayoral aspirant, Nell eventually triumphs and saves the day.

Grace Chow and West Australian Young Voices in Our Little Inventor, West Australian Opera, 2022. Photo © Rebecca Mansell

Emma Jayakumar, composer and co-librettist, has written a mini masterpiece, and...