Breath Cycle

Scottish Opera’s Breath Cycle has been around since 2013. It began life as a collaboration between the opera company and Glasgow’s Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service to explore whether classical singing techniques might help the wellbeing of cystic fibrosis sufferers. Since 2021, however, it has been broadened to engage with sufferers from a range of conditions affecting lung health, especially Long Covid. Bringing together composer Gareth Williams (a former Scottish Opera composer in residence) and writer Martin O’Connor, the project both offered vocal guidance to participants – in terms of singing, vocal exercises and breathing techniques – and also drew on their experiences in songwriting workshops. These workshop sessions were made in collaboration with consultants from the NHS. Following several iterations of the workshops, the newly composed songs were drawn together in a ‘Covid Composers Songbook’. In January and February 2025, the project transformed into a live public event with performances of a selection of these songs by Williams, O’Connor and other Scottish performers.