Operatic works
Helena - Sci-fi Chamber opera in one act
Picking up where Karel Čapek’s seminal 1920 play RUR left off, Helena is both a sci-fi romance and a meditation on transhumanism.
Primus, a robot, and Helena, one of the last humans, have escaped to create a new life in secret. As Helena’s human memory begins to fail, the lovers resolve to find a way of uploading her mind before it is lost – and with it the last knowledge of how Rossum’s robots were created.
Music and words: Marco Galvani, Musical director: Sam Poppleton, Director: Annemiek van Elst, Producer: Jessie Anand
Helena: Beca Davies, Primus: Will Frost, Hunter: George Robarts, Oracle: Anita Monserrat
Violin: Kath Robarts, Viola: Cameron Howe, Cello: Dominic Veall, Synthesizers and live electronics: Marco Galvani
Autopilot Saves Model S (2017) - A chamber opera in one act
This one act opera was created in collaboration with Leo Mercer, a poet, librettist, and theatre-maker with whom I have collaborated on many projects in recent years. His radical approach to language and aesthetics is incredibly refreshing, and our collaboration led us to create an opera based on the story of Joshua Brown, the first known fatality in an auto-pilot car. The opera tells this story through the frame of Annalyn Kurtz, a journalist charged with the task of writing an article about Brown, and over the course of the piece she gradually constructs her article, all the while researching this tragic incident online. This piece was first performed at the Oxford University Maths Institute in 2017 by Faded Ink Productions.
Photos L-R: With cast and producers on BBC Oxford Radio station, Twm Watkins directing rehearsals, with Leo Mercer at the first performance, Leo during rehearsals, me conducting an early rehearsal.
Rothschild’s Violin (2015) - A chamber opera in one act
My first chamber opera was based on a story by Anton Chekhov, in which Yakov, a local coffin-maker falls out with Rothschild, a wealthy flautist. The two reconcile over the course of the piece, and eventually Rothschild gives his violin to Yakov while the latter is on his deathbed. An allegorical tale on the communicative power of music, the violin represents the passing on of art to give others consolation. This piece was performed in a run of shows in New College, Oxford, under the direction of Jam Orrell in February 2016, and produced by New Chamber Opera.
Photos L-R: Salvador Mascarenhas (Yakov) and Lila Chrisp (Martha) during rehearsal, promotional material, ensemble during rehearsal, Salvador performing during the dress rehearsal, Salvador and Matthew (Rothschild) performing during the dress rehearsal.