A new, short comic opera
Attended by a demonic manservant and an angelic maid, the first female Pope has died. She now wants nothing less than a cosy retirement in paradise, but Someone has other ideas and the elevator going upwards gets stuck. It's a Day of Wrath! What does St Peter, the Caretaker, know? Does he hold the key to the plot? Accompanied by piano duet and a choir of heavenly voices, this is a satire that confronts the ridiculous, the sublime, love, death and comic opera all at the same time.
Inspired by a real incident when, on 1st September 2019, the lift carrying Pope Francis to the Papal balcony got stuck and he had to be rescued by the Vatican firefighters, the opera veers between domestic comedy and high 'mythology' in a Dante-like story set in the afterlife. The choir's singing of the Dies Irae in the background contrasts with sardonic verses by the American writer Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) which become danced interludes during the Pope's journey towards the cleansing fire of Purgatory. The production is choreographed in commedia dell'arte style by director Jim Osman, who says, "the story is brilliantly dramatic and I feel really at home with the satire." While the music is contemporary but accessible, the work's ethos owes much to Italian opera buffa.
Composer Edward Lambert and colleagues founded The Music Troupe in 2013 to give performances of new bel canto operas that are designed for intimate spaces. Ed, who has a professional background in opera, has written 16 such works, six of which have been performed at previous festivals, and one created during lockdown as a film. Some are new collaborations, others have been adaptations of works by Lorca, Pirandello & Wilde. With Norman Welch as writer, the company created Apollo's Mission in 2019 which celebrated the first moon landing. The company sees the future of opera as being small-scale and approachable.