Lost a tenor - gained the lead role!

- Late night - but here's the latest. Maria Jardadottir is now cast in the lead role of Inanna. Feels really good decision. She's a non classical singer - an improviser with special interest in live performances, composition and Indian music. Her voice is beautifully natural, and free. Just right for the role. She is not the fastest reader in the world - but she learns something in her body and soul and then flies with it - though it takes her a little longer to get there than a trained classical singer. So what? We have put some time aside to work with her and she will get it - I know.

Felt really excited and even inspired when I made that decision. She's a wild woman with a nose ring and a tongue piercing and a bald head - great presence - the camera will love her and her voice is really easy to enjoy. She naturally decorates phrases with inflections and that I love.

It's an exciting risk to cast her along side fantastic classical voices like Marie Angel and Adey Grummet - but both these lovely ladies are so artistic and flexible as musicians I forsee no problem in integrating these different vocal stlyes. And we will use the amazing Carol Grimes - of Soul Britannia fame - on 3 Ereshkigal numbers - bringing in that hard hitting jazz vocal that she does so inimitably well. And Kerry Andrew will be a great supporting chorus as Spinner - with a real grounded alto voice, very body, and close to speech sound in her singing. Completely unaffected.

We lost out lead tenor today. So we are slightly panicing that we need to find another strong tenor asap!! But the 4 men we do have are richly endowed as singers. Nigel Robson - melt worthy, Jeremy Birchall - like dark chocolate in the bass Baritone, and young Michael Solomon Williams who will make an endearing Utu and fine young Laughing Demon. The extraordinary Nawroz Oramar will add Kurdish inspired vocal improvisations as after dubs where he can relax into his own style and add an authentic voice from the very regions the story originated from - Iraq.

Must lie horizontal.