Australian Contemporary Opera Company (ACOCo): Mary Motorhead | Trade
These are beautifully crafted stories told in English/Irish, with amplified electronic/classic instruments (10-piece band). Our Australian performers, Emily Edmonds, Christopher HIllier and Callum McGing are, without exaggeration, breathtaking in these roles.
For Melbourne audiences, it is a rare chance to experience the cutting edge of new, international opera, up close, in a theatre where every breath and every confession is in your ear.
Elaine Kelly, twice Grammy-nominated Irish conductor (thanks to support for travel costs from Culture Ireland and the Celtic Club), is at the helm musically, teaming up with Greta Nash, award-winning Australian director, to bring these stories to life on the Beckett stage.
MARY MOTORHEAD
Locked up for stabbing her husband in the head with a 12 inch carving knife, the compelling monodrama Mary Motorhead invites us to hear Mary’s “secret history” – disappointments and betrayals that shaped her life. In her ACOCO debut as Mary, Australian mezzo soprano Emily Edmonds faces the ugly side of life, and invites audiences to examine their own secret histories.
TRADEA clandestine meeting in a seedy hotel room between a ‘rent boy’ and his closeted client. The older man has blood on his shirt. In a cheap hotel room, they wrestle with their own inner demons and need for each other. Leading Australian baritone Christopher Hillier portrays a family man whose world is crumbling, determined to take charge of his future. Led by Grammy-nominated Irish conductor Elaine Kelly in her Australian debut, Elaine is known for her expressive interpretations and innovative approach to contemporary opera, bringing a powerful emotional depth to the stage. She describes Mary Motorhead and Trade as “devastating and beautiful at the same time”.
Words by Emma & Mark O’Halloran
Music direction by Elaine Kelly (Ireland)
Stage direction by Linda Thompson AM
Featuring Emily Edmonds, Christopher Hillier and amplified chamber orchestra.
Co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Irish National Opera, Trinity Church Wall Street and Nancy and Barry Sanders.
Australian premiere of a powerful, Grammy-nominated Double Bill by Irish composer, Emma O’Halloran.
6 – 13 March 7pm
Duration: 2 hours including 20min interval.
Beckett Theatre, Malthouse
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