Femininity, Adaption and Opera

Overview

Researcher: Nicholas Gawley

As a composer, I have always been fascinated with the human psyche, seeing it as a foundation for all sorts of artistic expression and knowledge. Dramatic music, particularly opera, is central to my compositional language, and it gives me an ideal stage for exploring the psychological depth of a given character.

Henrik Ibsen's plays are renowned for the vividness and depth of their female characters, and their critique of (then) contemporary attitudes towards women, providing a rich starting point for composers aiming for a more rounded portrayal of women than is typically found in the canonical operatic repertoire. I aim to adapt Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea into a chamber opera, and workshop part of it with singers and instrumentalists. Using Ibsen's drama of torn desire, this project explores how a tormented female heroine can solve her crisis without resorting to death, which has been a historically ‘standard’ dramatic solution.

I reflect on the process of writing and workshopping the work, focusing on how I portrayed the protagonist Ellida’s struggles, the process of adapting literary sources into opera (including the writing of my own libretto), and the trials and tribulations of workshopping an opera.

Image: sunrise over an expansive seascape by Joshua Gawley