Today I am a little bleary-eyed after the first performance of my new opera, The Sea with Forest Collective and BK Opera.
How do you write music that is coercive, corruptive, and seductive? This was the central issue I faced when I commenced work on this beautiful and strange piece.
Poet Nicole Butcher and I had been discussing a project that explored the notions of power, corruption, and trauma for many years until I finally decided to write the score about a year ago. Nicole provided me with various rewrites over the years, and during this time we discussed how the piece could attempt to depict two dual experiences of someone living in an abusive relationship – how they could overcome it and flourish or find themselves utterly overwhelmed by the situation. We have endeavoured to evoke both of these feelings within the composition.
We also wanted to keep the subject matter open to interpretation both by Kate and the performers but also the audience. We didn't want to pigeon hole the action of the work, but allow the whole creative team to discuss and workshop ideas around the content of the work.
Throughout this process, we were consistently drawn to analogies of water and the sea, making it a natural focus for the work. I hope that the music flows and washes over you, reminiscent of the waves and foam you battle during a blustery winter swim.
The composition is structured into 5 scenes, with a prelude, and 2 interludes. The first of these interludes is the 'cage interlude,' depicting the central person's sense of being trapped, while the second illustrates this person's experience at the hands of violence, both physical and psychological, and their inner anger. The 5 scenes feature moments for all 6 singers, with musical structures referencing baroque music and operatic tropes, such as the opening chorus and the second scene where the two women's voices act in a sort of mirror-like aria, echoing each other. This idea of mirroring and echoing is woven throughout the work. I am captivated by this concept of repetition and duality, both in the music and in the experience of the characters.
This work delves into difficult subject matter, but I hope you find it interesting, arresting, and intriguing.
Photos by Andrew Signor.