What's happened
A new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, staged by Tom Morris for Scottish Opera and Opera Ventures, uses Kafka’s fable to explore how a carnival’s ‘galloping cure’ exposes a town to pain’s true cost. Cast features Daniela Mack, Justin Austin, and Susan Bullock; staging blends spectacle with biting social critique.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- The piece presents a layered allegory: entertainment versus exploitation in healthcare, mirrored by the carnival ride that promises relief but exacts a heavy price.
- It challenges traditional opera boundaries by incorporating surreal visuals (singing sheep, carousel imagery) and a hard-edged social critique.
- Critics note the score’s brassy, direct language and the vocal lines’ accessibility, while some argue Act III rushes to closure.
- The work positions opera as a vehicle for urgent social commentary, forecasting continued engagement with prescription painkiller discourse and public health policy through theatrical form.
- Foreseeable outcomes include heightened debate around the ethics of pain management and potential touring of the production to other festivals.
How we got here
The work, inspired by Kafka and Karen Russell, is a collaboration for EIF 2026. It addresses contemporary opioid crises through a surreal narrative, with a composer, librettist, and director team that previously created Breaking the Waves.
Our analysis
Guardian reviews emphasize the work’s confrontational tone and Kafkaesque ethics, while The Scotsman highlights staging and performances; EIF program notes frame the project as a bold industrial-era parable. Quotes include: 'The flying horse sequences are breathtaking' (Guardian) and 'a battery of percussion plus club beats' ( Scotsman).
Go deeper
- How has the production influenced conversations about opioid policy?
- Will the show tour beyond Edinburgh with the same creative team?
More on these topics
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Royce Vavrek - Canadian librettist
Royce Vavrek is a Canadian-born Brooklyn-based librettist, playwright, dance scenarist, musical theatre writer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with composers David T.
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Edinburgh - Capital of Scotland
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian, it is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore.
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Missy Mazzoli - American composer
Missy Mazzoli is an American composer and pianist who is a member of the composition faculty at the Mannes College of Music. She has received critical acclaim for her chamber, orchestral and operatic work.
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Susan Bullock - Soprano
Susan Margaret Bullock CBE is a British soprano. She has performed dramatic soprano parts at major opera houses, and also sung in concert and recital.
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Daniela Mack - Argentine mezzo-soprano
Daniela Mack (born April 6, 1982) is an Argentine mezzo-soprano. She was a finalist in the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
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Gustav Mahler - Composer
Gustav Mahler was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century.
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Vienna - Capital of Austria
Vienna is the national capital, largest city, and one of nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's most populous city, with about 1.9 million inhabitants, and its cultural, economic, and political centre.