'Drop by drop we take the poison of men til we become immune...' Expect vocal fireworks and female rage in this one-woman opera about loss, betrayal and trauma. Dickens's infamous character Miss Havisham relives the disastrous day of her intended wedding and imagines a life she never got to experience. Based on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the opera was composed by Dominick Argento in 1981 and is now performed by British soprano Rosie Rowell.