In 2023, Caroline Coetzee walked past the Old Observatory which now forms part of the Institute of Astronomy. She noticed that they were having an open day and decided to poke her nose in. The librarian was giving a talk about a remarkable woman called Annie Walker the first professionally employed female astronomer in Britain. Fascinated and moved by Annie’s story and the injustice she faced, Caroline began to think about writing an opera based on this extraordinary, forgotten life.

From that chance encounter, a whole new project has emerged, one that weaves together the arts, sciences, social history and education.

In 1903, astronomer Annie Walker left Cambridge for Australia having had her job and home taken from her. She would never work again. The Hidden Star project gives life to this long-forgotten pioneer in the history of women in science, the first woman in Britain to be professionally employed as an observational astronomer.

Caroline is working with composer Rania Chrysostomou to create a new chamber opera, a lyrical intimate character study using contemporary words and music to create a real woman. The opera shows how the daughter of a Suffolk miller was able to move without fanfare into such an unusual position and explores the impact of the destruction of her career.

Alongside the opera, we are working with the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge to create workshops for children and young people, using the combination of arts and science to inspire a new generation.

The project crosses the boundaries of arts, sciences and social history. It touches on issues facing women in science and opens up the work of unseen scientists, without whose work our knowledge of the universe would be poorer.

For more information, see the Hidden Star website