Show artwork for TRADE / Mary Motorhead

TRADE / Mary Motorhead TRADE / Mary Motorhead

Composed by Emma O'Halloran, libretto by Mark O'Halloran

April 2730

At the REDCAT

A powerful double bill by Irish composer Emma O'Halloran.

LA Opera's multi-season collaboration with the groundbreaking Beth Morrison Projects continues with a double bill of extraordinary West Coast premieres by Irish composer Emma O'Halloran.

In the compelling 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 actions. 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. 

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"The intensity rarely flags in Emma O’Halloran’s two-hour double bill... both operas offer virtuosic showcases for daring singing actors."

The New York Times

Cast

Mary
Naomi Louisa O'Connell
The Older Man
Marc Kudisch
The Younger Man
Kyle Bielfield

Creative Team

Composer
Emma O'Halloran
Librettist
Mark O'Halloran
Conductor
Elaine Kelly
Creative Producer
Beth Morrison Projects
Director
Tom Creed
Scenery
Jim Findlay
Costumes
Montana Levi Blanco
Lighting
Christopher Kuhl
Sound Engineering
Garth MacAleavey
Electronic Sound Design
Alex Dowling

Performances take place at REDCAT (631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012).

West Coast premiere

TRADE/Mary Motorhead was commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Irish National Opera and Nancy and Barry Sanders, developed by Beth Morrison Projects, and produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Irish National Opera and Trinity Church Wall Street.

Off Grand productions are supported by a consortium of generous donors to LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative, chaired by Barry and Nancy Sanders. 

Artwork for TRADE / Mary Motorhead
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2022/23 Season