Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour, a Triptych comprising three interconnected chamber operas commissioned from Canadian composers Fuhong Shi, John Rea and Pierre Klanac. Scored for two female voices and accordion, the operas are linked thematically to one another to create one, fully staged cohesive music-theatre production, inspired by the eternal theme of love.

The texts come from three different cultures and periods, and will be sung in Mandarin, English and French. The Mandarin poem is from the Tang Dynasty: Spring, River, and Flowers on a Moonlit Night by Zhang Ruoxu, the English translated text Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour by Strozzi and Loredano, and the French poem Jeux à Vendre by Christine de Pisan.

The vulnerable texture of soprano, mezzo-soprano and accordion creates a very delicate and highly refined sound world, resulting in an intimately sensual, fragile and intense experience. Singers Xin Wang and Krisztina Szabo share the stage with accordion player John Lettieri. Stage director Ruth Madoc-Jones, set & costume designer Michael Gianfrancesco and lighting designer Kimberly Purtell team up with Queen of Puddings' co-artistic directors, Dáirine Ní Mheadhra and John Hess for the creation of Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour.