Scottish Opera’s (SO) ground-breaking project Breath Cycle was started in 2012 to helps those with lung conditions, such as Long Covid, using breathing techniques in singing and songwriting workshops.
Classical:NEXT is the world’s largest networking event for classical music professionals, featuring over 220 contributors and delegates from 54 countries and at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday 14th May, SO beat competition from across the world to pick up the prestigious Classical:NEXT Innovation Award. SO shared the Innovation Award spotlight with two other recipients: OPERA APERTA (Ukraine) and Clásica No Convencional (Chile).
The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award is decided by nominations from renowned international journalists and leaders in the arts and is selected by the Classical:NEXT community. It recognises organisations and projects that ‘push the boundaries of classical music through innovative approaches, audience engagement and artistic excellence.’
Breath Cycle was praised for its pioneering work supporting people with respiratory conditions, which included its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing the project back to life through the lens of Long COVID.
Since then, the project has relaunched to include new video and audio resources, one-to-one song writing sessions exploring the participants’ experiences of living with Long COVID, that has resulted in The Covid Composers Songbook, and a series of intimate performances showcasing these heartfelt and emotive songs in 2023 and 2025, including A Story of Healing:Breath Cycle on Stage.
Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera Jane Davidson MBE, who travelled to Germany for the award ceremony composer Gareth Williams, said “Voice is such an integral part of what makes us human. Your voice is yours and yours alone, and to lose control over it can be devastating. We’ve learnt so much about how loss of voice through lung conditions of all types, attacks the very core of one’s identity, often leading to profound loneliness and isolation. So, from the beginning, the challenge for us was twofold: to help alleviate the physical symptoms of their illness, and to help participants regain their self-worth through the song-writing programme. Hearing these authentic voices ‘singing’ out is an artistic and a human experience that speaks to us all.”
Breath Cycle began as a partnership between SO and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service in Glasgow and has since worked with nearly 2,500 people, where participants have reported improvements in mental and physical health and wellbeing as well as reductions in stress levels and increases in energy and motivation.
Breath Cycle will continue throughout Scottish Opera’s 2025-2026 Season with support from The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, WM Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust, and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 