The Galloping Cure
WORLD PREMIEREThe 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.
One of the greatest operas of the century
Feisty, funny and for real
Image gallery
A gallery carousel of 9 items
Justin Austin Lucky Mack and Susan Bullock Ivona Kowalski in The Galloping Cure
© Credit : Antonia Bain
The Galloping Cure
© Credit : Christopher Bowen
The cast of The Galloping Cure
© Credit : Antonia Bain
Daniela Mack as Theresa Hart and Gabrielle Turgeon as Noy in The Galloping Cure
© Credit : Christopher Bowen
Justin Austin as Lucky Mack in The Galloping Cure
© Credit : Christopher Bowen
The Galloping Cure
© Credit : Christopher Bowen
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 MackTheresa Hart, the doctor
- Gabrielle TurgeonNoy, her daughter
- Justin AustinLucky Mack
- Susan BullockIvona Kowalski, the old woman
Creative TeamCloseOpen
- Opera Ventures Productions
- Scottish Opera
- Missy MazzoliComposer
- Royce VavrekLibrettist
- Based on an original story by Karen Russell
- Stuart StratfordConductor
- The Orchestra of Scottish Opera
- The Ensemble of The Galloping Cure
- Tom MorrisDirector & Dramaturg
- Rebecca RingstSet & Props Designer
- Leah HausmanAssociate Director & Movement Director
- Christina CunninghamCostume Designer
- Lucy CarterLighting Designer
- Will DukeProjection 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
Further InformationCloseOpen
- One instance of strobe-like lighting in the first act. Flashing lights throughout.
Dive Deeper
Dream Weavers: A Closer Look at the Opioid Crisis
Listen to The Warm Up: your audio introduction to the performance.
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.
Dates & Times
© Antonia Bain