A teenage Irene prepares to sail to Constantinople with her best friend Megaris to present herself as the perfect bride for the Caesar Leo, son of the icon-hating Emperor, but can’t bear to leave behind her mother’s icon. Meanwhile, Leo tries to please his dying father under the shadow of his eunuch Staurakios’ warnings that war is coming.

ICONS/IDOLS: IRENE was written by Helen Banner and composed by Grace Oberhofer. Featuring Hilary Asare (Narrator), Iris Beaumier (Cyra), Isabella Dawis (Constantine VI), Hannah Eakin (Constantine V), Julia Izumi (Court), Grace Oberhofer (Court), Lukas Papenfusscline (Staurakios), Shanta Parasuraman (Megaris), Yael Shavitt (Leo) and Kay Weber (Irene). Music direction by Robert Frost. Audio engineering by Nathan Leigh. Sound design by Grace Oberhofer and Nathan Leigh. Featured foley artist Nicole Orabona. Produced by Emily Caffery. Learn more about the Byzantine Choral Project at www.byzantinechoralproject.com/podcast.

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