Deirdre Gribbin's new opera is based on translations from the Tang dynasty poet Liu Han. The sole unnamed character is emblematic of all women whose husbands or lovers are away fighting wars - "a story common to women everywhere and in every war", as the composer writes. During the hour-long piece, she ponders her situation and that of her lover, writes to and receives letters from him, sews and sends him a protective cloak, pleads with him not to fight and finally remembers their life together - all understandable reactions.

The problem is that none of this material is essentially dramatic; rather, it is contemplative or meditative. However sympathetically we might regard the character's plight, it does not develop, and the result is a lengthy solo cantata. Staging can do little for it except disguise its static nature. Lou Stein's production employs film (by Hazuan Hashim and Phil Maxwell) to evoke some of the imagery mentioned in the text - the sea, birds, a muddy battlefield - while two dancers (Amy Bell and Valentina Golfieri) help dress the protagonist and then support her in her isolation. Presentably done though all this is, it cannot hide the fact that what the audience witnesses scarcely begins to engage with opera's potential.

It might also be a livelier show with a more compelling vocal presence than mezzo-soprano Alison Wells, whose diction is weak. The Smith Quartet accompanies her diligently, but the score's best portions, possessed of a folksy lyricism, are not strong enough to counter its overall lack of variety.