I am delighted to announce that I will be creating the role of Celine in Michael Gallen’s new opera Elsewhere which premieres in the Abbey Theatre on the 15th of November 2021.
This piece tells the story of the first Soviet outside of the USSR which was established in a mental asylum in Monaghan in 1919.
In Elsewhere, these events unfold through the visions of Celine, a patient who decades later remains ‘locked in’ to the moment of the Soviet, believing herself to be its leader. Through her interactions with the charismatic ‘Inspector of Lunatics’ we tread the borders between fantasy and incarceration.
Dealing with themes of freedom, care and mental illness, Elsewhere explores the imagined future of a forgotten past.
The libretto is co-written by Michael Gallen with poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin and playwright Dylan Coburn Gray, and the production brings together a team of renowned Irish artists and rising international stars, led by director Tom Creed and conductor Fiona Monbet.
The piece will be brought to you by a truly gifted team of artists including French ensemble Miroirs Éntendus who specialise in theatrical performances and Irish singers of national and international acclaim.
In the coming weeks, we will all be taking up residence in Castleblaney, not far from the site of St Davnet’s, the mental asylum where the Soviet took place. While there, we will work on bringing to life not only the historical events of the Monaghan Asylum Soviet but also the experiences of those ‘locked up’ in the mental asylums of the past and those struggling to navigate the landscape of their own mental states in the present.
Credits
- Singers: Aaron O’Hare, Amy Ní Fhearraigh, Adrian Dwyer, Aoife Miskelly, Daire Halpin, Fearghal Curtis, Sinéad O’Kelly
- Miroirs Étendus Musicians: Aurélie Martin, Constant Madon, Cyprien Noisette, Elsa Moatti, Joséphine Besançon, Julia Macarez, Michèle Pierre, Sarah Van der Vlist, Romain Louveau
- Concept/Composer: Michael Gallen
- Libretto: Michael Gallen, Annemarie Ní Churreain and Dylan Coburn Gray
- Director: Tom Creed
- Conductor: Fiona Monbet
- Vocal Director: Romain Louveau
- Set and Costume Designer: Katie Davenport
- Lighting Designer: Sinead McKenna
- AV Design: Luca Truffarelli
- Choreographer: Shawn Ahern
- Producer: Maura O’Keeffe
Tickets are available here from Friday 1st of October.
Daire Halpin - Soprano 