I’m always a bit surprised that there aren’t more sci-fi themed operas.  It seems like a natural fit for the medium.  I’ve seen a couple.  A few years ago the UoT composer collective opera was an EM Forster based piece called The Machine Stops.  There’s also Aaron Gervais’ The Harvester which I’ve seen twice in workshop and which may one day see the light.  Now another has come to my attention but, alas, it’s in London, England so I wont be able to go.  It sounds interesting though.  It’s by Alastair White, it’s called Wear and it’s about fashion and the apocalypse.

The publicity material describes it as “A sci-fi fashion opera at the wild, impossible edges of contemporary art music: Waiting for Godot meets Lulu for the post-truth generation.”

Mark Berry (whose opinion I generally find reliable and insightful) reviewing an earlier incarnation said “spellbinding…an opera of rare imagination – and success”.

It’s getting it’s first fully staged outing next month directed by Gemma Williams.  It will run for two nights at the Bridewell Theatre on the 23rd and 24th of August with special post-show events, as part of the festival ‘Opera in the City.’

If anyone can go and would like to review I’ll happily guest blog it.