 “Virtuosic showcases for daring singing actors.”
— The New York Times
|
|
|
For immediate release – (New York, NY) - DATE - Beginning April 27 through the 30th, LA Opera will present the west coast premiere of TRADE/Mary Motorhead , a “powerful double bill…[which] deals with disappointment, connection and heartbreak--and what makes people tick.” (Broadway World) by composer Emma O’Halloran and librettist Mark O’Halloran. Co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Irish National Opera, Trinity Wall Street, and Nancy & Barry Sanders; and produced by Beth Morrison Projects and Irish National Opera, in association with Trinity Church Wall Street, the double bill works features powerful performances from mezzo-soprano Naomi Louisa O’Connell, three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch, and international recording artist Kyle Bielfield. The double bill was premiered to critical acclaim during the 2023 PROTOTYPE Festival this past January.
In the monodrama Mary Motorhead, a convicted murderer invites us to hear her secret history—the disappointments and betrayals that shaped her life—in the hope that it may shine some light upon the darkness of her action. Mezzo-soprano Naomi Louisa O’Connell stars as the woman pushed to the edge by circumstance, now finding the road back to herself.
TRADE is the story of a rent boy and his closeted client in working-class Dublin, both trapped within their own lives. Meeting secretly in a cheap hotel, they wrestle with their own inner demons and their need for each other. Three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch star of LA Opera's Wonderful Town and anatomy theater portrays a family man whose world is crumbling apart, with international recording artist Kyle Bielfield as a young hustler determined to take charge of his future.
Said Beth Morrison of the double bill: “Emma and Mark have created searing psychological portraits that capture the loneliness that fills the emotional worlds of these working-class Irish characters. In TRADE, the music expresses how that loneliness can echo between the two men, even when words fail them, while in Mary Motorhead, it pulses and throbs along with the rage, anger, and sadness that she feels.”
TRADE/Mary Motorhead is conducted by Elaine Kelly, Resident Conductor of the Irish National Opera in her company debut at LA Opera, with set design by Jim Findlay, lighting from Christopher Kuhl, and costume design by Montana Levi Blanco.
TRADE/Mary Motorhead is commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and Nancy and Barry Sanders; developed by Beth Morrison Projects, and produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Irish National Opera. Emma O’halloran won Beth Morrison Projects’ Next Gen competition and TRADE / Mary Motorhead are the commissioned works for the winning prize.
|
|
“...an important new composer.”
— Musical America
Click here to learn more.
|
|
|
There will be four performances of TRADE /Mary Motorhead presented at REDCAT (631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012):
- Thursday, April 27, at 8 PM
- Friday, April 28, at 8 PM
- Saturday. April 29, at 8 PM
- Sunday, April 30, at 2 PM
Single tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at LA Opera's box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012). For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.
|
|
About Beth Morrison Projects
|
|
Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) is one of the foremost creators and producers of new opera-theatre and music theatre, with a fierce commitment to leading the industry into the future, cultivating a new generation of talent, and telling the stories of our time. Founded by “contemporary opera mastermind” ( LA Times) Beth Morrison, who was honored as one of Musical America’s Artists of the Year/Agents of Change in 2020, BMP has grown into “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” ( Financial Times), with Opera News declaring that the company, “more than any other… has helped propel the art form into the twenty-first century.” Operating across the US and internationally, with offices in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, BMP’s unique model offers living composers the support, guidance, and freedom to experiment, allowing them to create singularly innovative and impactful projects. Since forming in 2006, the company has commissioned, developed, produced and toured over 50 works in 14 countries around the world, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning chamber operas Angel’s Bone and p r i s m. In 2013, BMP co-founded the PROTOTYPE Festival with HERE Arts Center, which has been called “utterly essential” ( The New York Times), “indispensable” ( The New Yorker), and “one of the world’s top festivals of contemporary opera and theater” ( Associated Press). https://www.bethmorrisonprojects.org
|
|
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies. In Our Daughter's Eyes is presented through LA Opera's Off Grand initiative, featuring performances presented in a variety of venues across Los Angeles that expand the definition of what opera can be. To learn more, visit LAOpera.org.
|
|
|
|
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
