Divine Madness
Dance and Opera with award-winning soprano Mairéad Buicke
A dance-opera study of grief, revenge and love built around a soprano, three dancers and a live pianist. Divine Madness explores the physicality of the soprano in the context of dance, the singer
exploring her practice beyond the concert recital. The sound score centres on using fragmented
operatic extracts from arias in a context of exile, loss and revenge, including Ave Maria from
Verdi’s Otello, Vissi d' Arte from Puccini’s Tosca, Ebben? n'andro lontana from Catalina’s
La Wally, Morgen by Richard Strauss, O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini, Song of the Moon from Dvorak’s Rusalka and None but the Lonely Heart (Op 6 No 6) by Tchaikovsky.
PRESS REVIEWS
"Visually striking and infused with an exuberant energy, Divine Madness is something of a wild, bittersweet joy" - Chris O'Rourke, The Arts Review
"A full-throated and full-bodied exploration of the physicality of the operatic soprano" - Michael Seaver, The Irish Times
"Highly original and exploratory... every minute of the show is a reminder of the versatility, adaptability, resilience, discipline and strength of singers and dancers" - No More Workhorse
Choreography: John Scott
Soprano: Mairéad Buicke
Dancers: Conor Thomas Doherty, Magdalena Hylak, Hannah Rogerson
Pianist: Richard McGrath
Lighting and Design: Eric Wurtz
2019 Terrific Highlights: John Scott’s delightful Divine Madness did much to suggest there’s much more to come from this intriguing choreographer" - Chris O'Rourke, The Year that was 2019, The Arts Review
Divine Madness
Background Photo: Chris Nash