Creative Team
Composer
EMMA O’HALLORAN
Librettist
MARK O’HALLORAN
Director
TOM CREED
Music Director
ELAINE KELLY
Electronic Sound Design
ALEX DOWLING
Featuring
NAOMI O'CONNELL, MARC KUDISCH, KYLE BIELFIELD, and NOVUS NY
Scenic Design
JIM FINDLAY
Lighting Design
CHRIS KUHL
Costume Design
MONTANA LEVI BLANCO
Sound Engineering
GARTH MACALEAVEY
Assistant Direction
MADELINE WHITESELL
Assistant Lighting Design
BRYAN EALEY
Associate Costume Design
JESSICA CRAWFORD
Featuring
NOVUS NY
EMMA O’HALLORAN
MARK O’HALLORAN
TOM CREED
ELAINE KELLY
About
A powerful double bill 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.
Support
Commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Irish National Opera, Trinity Church Wall Street, and Nancy & Barry Sanders. Produced by Beth Morrison Projects and Irish National Opera in association with Trinity Church Wall Street. Additional support provided by Virginia B. Toulmin Charitable Foundation, Antonia & Vladimer Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund,Inc, Elizabeth Greenberg, Culture Ireland, and Charlotte Isaacs.
![The West Coast premiere of TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD marked another successful addition to the rich legacy of collaborative efforts between Beth Morrison Projects and LA Opera (@laopera)! We're looking back at some of our favorite productions over the years to celebrate!
DOG DAYS - DOG DAYS marked the first production of the whirlwind partnership in 2015. Hailed by the New York Times as a riveting, soon-to-be “groundbreaking American classic,” the post-apocalyptic tragedy made waves at its LAO presentation and put BMP on the West Coast map.
P R I S M - P R I S M marked another milestone in our joint history. Not only did Ellen Reid’s (@ellenreidmusic) debut opera make its world premiere with LA Opera at REDCAT (@calartsredcat), but this collaborative project would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2019. It was a major development for BMP, LAO, and, of course, Ellen Reid, who “[took] her place among the host of promising young American opera composers” (The Financial Times).
ANGEL'S BONE - Another Pulitzer Prize-winning BMP production, ANGEL'S BONE, was planned as part of the 2020 season. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the presentation pivoted, becoming the first in our history to be presented digitally. The show was streamed by 20,000 people, demonstrating the strength and resilience of our bond with LAO.
TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD - Finally, Emma O’Halloran’s (@emmamohalloran) TRADE/Mary Motorhead made its West Coast premiere last month at REDCAT. We're thrilled to celebrate another year of BMP and LAO sharing boundary-pushing, cutting-edge opera with this incredible production starring Naomi Louisa O’Connell (@naomi_louisa_oconnell), Marc Kudisch (@marckudisch), and Kyle Bielfield (@bielfield)!](https://bethmorrisonprojects.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)