Mission
Opera Eos brings new and revived opera and theatre by female creators from around the world to audiences in the UK.
As the 21st century progresses, dialogue around gender and opera is increasingly prominent. While ever more companies include living female composers and writers in their repertory, as well as employing more women as stage directors, the gulf between male and female representation remains stark, and works by women from previous centuries remain almost entirely forgotten.
Opera Eos was founded by Charlotte McKechnie in 2016 to fill this gap and to present the richest of contemporary and historic repertoire. From black box theatres to libraries, cafes and even refurbished swimming pools, Opera Eos performs chamber operas and physical theatre works to illuminate figures from our musical history as well as the best emerging contemporary talent.
PERFORMANCES
“THE NEXT STATION IS GREEN PARK” World premiere
A chamber opera in one act by Anna Semple.
Thursday 2oth June, 7.30pm | Friday 21st June, 2.15pm
New Athenaeum Theatre, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Tickets free! Reserve at operaeos@gmail.com
Five passengers become trapped in their Underground train carriage during their morning commute. Whilst at first merely frustrated at the inconvenience, passengers become increasingly overtaken with claustrophobia and paranoia as the wait continues and they discover an unattended bag in the carriage. A commentary on social anxiety and domestic terrorism, The Next Station is Green Park is a psychological drama that challenges us to re-examine our inherent biases and social interactions.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Producer/Director - Charlotte McKechnie
Music Director - Stephanie Childress
Set Designer - Julia Quante
Costume Designer - Megan Adair
Technical Stage Manager - Lewis Douglas
Assistant Technical Stage Manager - Ewan Sullivan
Photographer - Donagh Marnane
CAST
A - Jasmine Munns
B - Will Frost
C - Harim Oh
D - Anna Brady
E - Emma Walton
“Viola” national tour
A new aerial theatre work devised by Charlotte McKechnie. Choreographed by Adam Wright.
22nd August 2019 - Mac Arts, Galashiels
13th September 2019 - Jacksons Lane, London
18th September 2019 - Platform Theatre, Glasgow
More dates to be announced!
Viola is a brand new aerial theatre exploration using movement to investigate the psychological journey through depression, anxiety and isolation. Reimagining Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night through the eyes of Viola with a solo aerialist, Viola interweaves Shakespeare’s original text with aerial performance (Silks and Corde Lisse) and floor acrobatics to illuminate the inner questions and turmoil of Shakespeare’s most vibrant heroine.
Director/Producer: Charlotte McKechnie
Choreographer/Aerialist: Adam Wright
Music: Rufus Huggan and Zakarya Hussan
Supported by Aerial Edge, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Hope Scott Trust, and Split Infinitive.
Photo credit: David Mar Photography
“Viola” world-premiere aerial theatre work
A new aerial theatre work devised by Charlotte McKechnie. Choreographed by Adam Wright.
24th May 2019, 8.30pm
Aerial Edge, Kelvinhall (1445 Argyle Street, Glasgow)
Appearing as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2019.
Viola is a brand new aerial theatre exploration using movement to investigate the psychological journey through depression, anxiety and isolation. Reimagining Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night through the eyes of Viola, this devising performance blends contemporary circus, dance and theatre with music and engaging multimedia, drawing parallels between psychological phenomena and creative expression.
With a solo aerialist, this production will interweave Shakespeare’s original text with aerial performance (Silks and Corde Lisse) and floor acrobatics to illuminate the inner questions and turmoil of Shakespeare’s most vibrant heroine.
Director/Producer: Charlotte McKechnie
Choreographer/Aerialist: Adam Wright
Music: Rufus Huggan and Zakarya Hussan
Supported by Aerial Edge, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Hope Scott Trust, and Split Infinitive.
“cabildo” european-premiere opera
A chamber opera by Amy Beach
19th-20th November 2018
Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow
A chamber opera spanning two hundred years in sixty minutes.
Written in 1932, Cabildo follows Pierre LaFitte, a pirate wrongfully imprisoned in New Orleans' jail (the eponymous 'Cabildo'), in a fantastical dream sequence as he struggles for freedom. Set during the American Revolution, this luscious work remains Amy Beach's opera only and sees its European premiere during June 2018. Scored for six principals, a rollicking chorus, and piano, violin, and cello, it is sure to enrapture opera newcomers and existing enthusiasts alike.
Stage Director - Charlotte McKechnie | Music Director - Gregor Forbes
Designers - Julia Quante, Megan Adair
Cast:
Pierre LaFitte - Arthur Bruce
Lady Valerie - Filipe Portela
Dominique/Tom - Seumas Begg
The Barker - Ben Chinapen
Mary - Emma Walton
Gaoler - Chris Dollins
Soir des Femmes 2.0: An afternoon of female composers.
15th April 2017, 2pm
Hunneman Hall, Brookline Public Library (361 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445)
Featuring selections from -
Cabildo Amy Beach (1932)
Jeanne Justine Chen (2007)
Zizi Eva Dell'Acqua (1906)
Le Mariage d'Antonio Lucile Gretry (1786)
Cendrillon Pauline Viardot (1904)
Dashing heroines. Love-struck pirates. High-jinks in the country and town...This program includes scenes from five electric operas across two hundred years.
Stage Director: Charlotte McKechnie | Music Director: Max Phillips
Featuring: David Evans, Stephanie Mao, Ethan Sagin, Christian Schwebler, Anna Ward.
Artistic Director Charlotte McKechnie
Charlotte McKechnie, Artistic Director
Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Charlotte McKechnie is a director, soprano and producer who has worked extensively across the United States and Europe. Recent directing projects include directing Dell Acqua’s Zizi and Bronsart’s Jery und Bätely in Boston, Massachusetts; assisting internationally-acclaimed director Max Hoehn (Handel's Rodelinda) for Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Gilbert Blin (Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea) in the Boston Early Music Festival, and assisting Roxanna Myhrum (Montsalvage’s El Gato con Botas) at the Outside the Box Festival Main stage. Recent operatic roles include Amore (Orfeo ed Eurydice), Edonide (Alcide al Bivio), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Galatea (Acis and Galatea), Ofelia (La Grotta di Trofonio), and Prilepa (Queen of Spades), with appearances and recitals at the Berlin Opera Academy, Snape Maltings and the Songfest art song festival in Los Angeles. Charlotte has produced operas and large-scale multi-disciplinary collaborations at the American Repertory Theater and at the National Opera Centre in New York for Opera America. She graduated from Harvard University with B.A. Honours in History and Literature with German citation and currently pursues her Masters of Voice Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. More at charlottemckechniemusic.com
Gregor Forbes, Music Director
Gregor Forbes (b. 1993) is a composer, conductor and pianist based in Scotland. He studied Music at the University of Cambridge and completed a Master's Degree in Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2016. Gregor was chosen for inaugural year of the Hanns Eisler Scholarship and Residency, which involves a five month stay in Leipzig in 2019 to compose music for performance at the Gewandhaus. Gregor has also had much experience as accompanist and solo pianist, specialising in music of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has run the Glasgow Experimental Music Series since 2014, teaches piano in Edinburgh, and writes about music.
Viola
Photo credit: David Mar Photography
