The opera, devised by composer Jane Hammond and librettist Therèsa Borg of Monstrous Theatre, is directed by Sarah Goodes and presented by Victorian Opera. It stars Natalie Jones as a fictionalised version of Garner and Antoinette Halloran as Nicola, the friend who came to Melbourne seeking treatment.
Published in 2008, "The Spare Room" is Garner's fictionalised account of what she describes as the worst three weeks of her life. Garner recalled how she had imagined herself as a Florence Nightingale figure, quiet and efficient, but the reality became a "power struggle between me and her terror of death and her fantasy that this treatment was going to cure her."
Despite the tension, Garner said she loved her friend deeply, describing her as "a wonderful person, but she was mad with fear."
For performer Halloran, the production carries deep personal resonance. "I've never experienced a production this emotional before," she said. "My mother is stage four at the moment, so we're living it. Everyone in the room in some capacity."
The opera has been in gestation for several years, and its premiere marks a new chapter for the story that began in Garner's spare room nearly two decades ago.