The Portrait is the musical story of expatriate Adelaide-born artist Stella Bowen. Best known as an official war artist during World War II, Stella captured the imagination and hearts of Australians by giving us insight into the distant conflict. Her famous painting, Bomber Crew, takes pride of place at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

The story of Stella's early life, along with the power and beauty of her paintings, inspired Co-Opera to commission a new work of music theatre by Adelaide composer and writer, Becky Llewellyn.

The Portrait tells the story of Stella in the Bohemian world of Paris and London during the 1920s. Young and gullible, Stella is introduced to the English author, Ford Madox Ford by writer Violet Hunt and falls deeply in love. Ford and Stella become leading lights amongst Europe 's artistic glitterati. Their life together unravels as Ford becomes entangled with writer Jean Rhys and a dangerous love triangle develops.

Humour and wit infuse Llewellyn's sensuous sounds and combined with Bowen's powerful images, add up to an intense musical experience.

Re-live falling in love. And out of love, again.

Becky Llewellyn writes music of the heart with a classical feel. She grew up in the US in a musical family and trained with Graeme Koehne at the Conservatorium in the 1980s. Since then, she has written for a wide variety of choral, orchestral, ensemble and solo performers.

The Portrait is her first opera.