Twice through the heart
Twice through the heart projected the 3D stage set for a chamber opera by English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. The projected imagery filled a transparent scrim set across the full dimensions of the large stage at Sadler’s Wells in London, which commissioned the work.
The performer, soloist Sarah Connolly, was immersed in 3D scenes evoked by the libretto she sang, which tells the story of a working class English housewife imprisoned for killing her abusive husband.
The floating imagery suggests her mental state:
the suffocating fear and violence she endured for years in a cramped council flat, along with the brief mirages of a happy life she had once hoped for.
The partially abstracted imagery derives from photographically captured spaces of a council housing flat of 70’s vintage as well as of the now-faded “English Riviera” boardwalk and beach in Paighnton.
Created by Downie, Eshkar, and Kaiser.
From the archive — the earlier web page for this work
In December 2011 at Sadler’s Wells (UK), we were invited immerse soloist Sarah Connolly in an ethereal 3D stage environment for a live chamber opera Twice Through the Heart. Originally composed in 1997 by English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, the staging was choreographed anew by Wayne MacGregor.
The English-language libretto by poet Jackie Kay depicts the misery of a working class english housewife imprisoned for killing her abusive husband. Our floating imagery is suggestive of her mental state: the suffocating fear and violence she endured for years in a cramped council flat, along with brief mirages of the happy life she had once hoped for. To create the imagery, we traveled to Dartington to photographically capture the council housing flat of 70’s vintage.
All stage photos above by Ravi Deepres, 2011.