COSMONAUT part 1 music/sounds David Chesworth, libretto Tony MacGregor

A Russian cosmonaut is stranded in orbit around the earth as the communist bloc collapses. On earth, a woman yearns beneath the stars and effects a connection between herself and the astronaut. Cosmonaut is a contemporary opera about their unusual relationship.

- Music and sound design by David Chesworth
- Libretto by Tony MacGregor
- Directed by David Pledger
- Visual Artist James Verdon
- Set Designed by David Pledger & Paul Jackson
- Lighting Designed by Paul Jackson
- Costume Designed by Danielle Harrison
- Development phase collaborators Sandra Parker
- Produced by Wax Sound Media & Dance Works
- Originally Commissioned by Opera Australia
- First Performed Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse for the Melbourne International Arts Festival 20/10/04

'This is a rare thing, an opera about ideas, I don't think I have seen a work as adventurous in its exploration of the nature of modern history since John Adams Nixon in China.' The Age

Performers
Melissa Madden Gray - soprano/alto
Grant Smith - tenor/baritone
Jeannie van de Velde - soprano
Dan Witton - tenor
Graham Lee - pedal steel guitar
Peter Neville - percussion
Adam Simmons - winds
Carlee Mellow - dancer
Katy MacDonald - dancer
Additional voices include Eddie Perfect, Monica Attard, Yuri Gagarin

Category:

Music

Tags:

• David Chesworth
• opera
• Performance
• experimental
• cosmonaut
• cold war