The Galloping Cure

WORLD PREMIERE

PART OF THE ANDERSON OPERA SERIES

Opera Ventures Productions and Scottish Opera present a bold new opera for the opioid age.

Local doctor Theresa Hart works tirelessly for her community in a fading, forgotten corner of the world. When the charismatic Lucky Mack comes to town, her daughter Noy is captivated. A ride on his carousel – the first one always free – promises miraculous relief from all aches and pains, and soon the whole town is swept up in euphoria. But getting off the ride gets harder with every turn.

This world premiere from Opera Ventures Productions reunites Scottish Opera with the creative forces of Missy Mazzoli, Royce Vavrek and Tom Morris, following their International Festival hit Breaking the Waves (2019). Mazzoli weaves club beats into her richly textured score, brought to life by conductor Stuart Stratford and The Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

The Galloping Cure is a haunting allegory for a crisis that has become a worldwide epidemic. Visually stunning and emotionally gripping, this contemporary fable evokes a darkly funny and devastating vision of a crumbling society.

0 Stars
Mazzoli and Vavrek struck operatic gold
The Scotsman on Breaking the Waves

Post-Show Talks

The Anderson Opera Series, made possible by James and Morag Anderson, allows the Festival to bring internationally acclaimed opera to Edinburgh and ensures these unmissable performances remain accessible to the widest possible audience.

with additional support from

Programme

Performed in English with surtitles

Cast & Credits

CastCloseOpen

Daniela Mack
Theresa Hart, the doctor
Gabrielle Turgeon
Noy, her daughter
Justin Austin
Lucky Mack
Susan Bullock
Ivona Kowalski, the old woman

Creative TeamCloseOpen

Opera Ventures Productions
Scottish Opera
Missy Mazzoli
Composer
Royce Vavrek
Librettist
Based on an original story by Karen Russell
Stuart Stratford
Conductor
The Orchestra of Scottish Opera
The Ensemble of The Galloping Cure
Tom Morris
Director & Dramaturg
Rebecca Ringst
Set & Props Designer
Leah Hausman
Associate Director & Movement Director
Christina Cunningham
Costume Designer
Lucy Carter
Lighting Designer
Will Duke
Projection Designer

CreditsCloseOpen

Co-commissioned by Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Ventures Productions, Scottish Opera, NorrlandsOperan AB & San Francisco Opera

Co-production with Opera Ventures Productions, Scottish Opera, NorrlandsOperan AB, Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, State Opera of South Australia, co-presented with Edinburgh International Festival.

Supported by a syndicate of donors including Sarah and Howard Solomon Foundation and Susie Thomson

Dive Deeper

Synopsis

Act One (Winter to Spring): Ecstasy

In a struggling industrial town, residents suffer increasing chronic pain. Dr. Theresa Hart treats patients with compassion but feels powerless, plagued by her own migraines. Her teenage daughter Noy resents her, calling her a “shitty doctor.”

A mysterious carnival arrives led by the devilish Lucky Mack, offering the townspeople joy and release on his carousel, “The Galloping Cure.” The community becomes enthralled; even skeptics like the eccentric Ivona Kowalski feel relief. Noy experiences the ride’s euphoria and urges her mother to try it. Theresa remains wary, but the town descends into mass hysteria as the carousel’s allure grows.

Act Two (Summer to Autumn): Danger

The mayor hails the Galloping Cure as an economic miracle, and Theresa publicly endorses it, partnering with Lucky Mack. Demand spirals, fights erupt, and Mack institutes dynamic pricing and a two-ride-per-week limit. At home, Noy returns injured in the carousel frenzy but finds relief riding a “HomeHorse”, a stick-horse for private use that Mack provides. Theresa, curious, succumbs and discovers her migraines momentarily vanish.

The sheep and dogs of the town sing joyfully as Mack tempts her further, blurring medicine with miracle. Meanwhile, Noy and the town’s youth retreat to an abandoned cinema, where HomeHorses transform into a rave-like party. They drift into dangerous dependence, surrendering their sense of self to the galloping cure.

Act Three (Autumn to Bitter Winter): The Deal

Mack preys on Ivona, persuading her to sacrifice her eyes, hair, and body parts for his carousel horses, which grotesquely incorporate human remains. Theresa, exhausted and addicted, nearly loses herself before realizing Noy and the other youths have been mutilated: tongues, hair, and more taken by Mack. She tries to save Noy, but her daughter succumbs, dying in her arms, convinced she was “ridden” by the cure.

Mack then confronts Theresa with Rosa, the baby, insisting they are partners in the town’s destruction. Theresa resists but cannot undo the damage: Ivona and Noy are transformed into carousel horses, and the town continues to ride, Theresa doubles down on her commitment to serving the town in the face of addiction.