In The Divining Lair (2019)

Opera Scene for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone, and Sinfonietta

Duration: 6 min

Program Note

In The Divining Lair is a drama between a psychic and her client. The orchestra acts as the sonic representation of client’s consciousness – it magnifies the psychic’s imposing theatrics and mocks his weaknesses.

The scenario: A man enters The Divining Lair, an ancient-looking fortune teller’s shop on a dark street in a nameless city. Pressed by the mystic to divulge the reason for his visit, pinned under the intensity of the seer’s gaze, the wanderer struggles to explain what he seeks. His search for illumination touches on universal feelings of transience, loss of one’s sense of self, and the dawning terror that as night draws ever nearer, the promise and purpose of life has gone unfulfilled.

Texts (pdf)

Performances

Premiere: 6/2019 Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme

Performance: 6/2022 Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme