My 2023 opera, The Sea, dealt with abuse, violence and emotional manipulation in relationships. This extremely sensitive topic is spoken about more in society, but continues to provoke strong emotional responses in people - as it should.
In researching this work, I was struck by the justification perpetrators of violence committed against family members or loved ones would give in trying to defend their reprehensible actions. Often, they would justify their physical abuse in terms of love for the victim and a ‘betrayal’ of purity by the victim. A warped, corrosive sense that their partner wasn’t ‘pure’ enough, had breached some warped sense of purity or a lack of ‘fairness’ in the relationship. I was struck by their perception that trust had been broken, and how that aided in some flimsy justification of their horrible actions.
In my note for the opera The Sea, I discussed how one can write music that is coercive and manipulative. I feel that this work follows a similar path. Attempting to show the manipulation and corruption of thought and reality, which leads to violent acts.
The work is scored for two soprano saxophones, an alto saxophone, and a baritone saxophone.
As the work progresses, the alto saxophone player moves to tenor and eventually soprano, and the baritone saxophone player also moves to soprano saxophone, so that by the climactic end of the work the four soprano saxophones are squawking in violent ecstasy.
Premiered by the Australian Saxophone Quartet, July 2025.