A dance/opera study of grief, revenge and love built around a soprano and two dancers. John Scott creates work with soprano Orla Boylan and dancers, including the gifted Conor Thomas Doherty, who has performed in Jan Fabre’s 24-hour play ‘Mount Olympus’, which is also punctuated with operatic arias. Divine Madness explores the physicality of the soprano in the context of a dance, the singer exploring her practice beyond the concert recital. The sound score centres on elements of Elektra’s aria from Richard Strauss’ masterpiece Elektra, using fragmented operatic extracts from arias in a context of exile, loss and revenge.
John Scott regards Divine Madness as a development of his exploration of the tenor in his work Heroes. Divine Madness, created in partnership with Project Arts Centre, contrasts the energy, physicality and virtuosity of young dancers with the soaring vocal virtuosity of one of Ireland's most exceptional operatic stars.
Alongside performances of Divine Madness, Laura Macken will also present two new dance works at 6pm on 15 and 16 November. Connections will examine the theme of connection to self and others, connecting back to ballet’s historical roots in early court dance. Lift embodies the daily cyclical rhythms that trap us from being fully ourselves, and looks at how we break free.
