Inside Intelligence Opera Double Bill: 'The Wanton Sublime' and 'The Medium'

Inside Intelligence is proud to conclude its 20th anniversary season at the Arcola, as part of the Grimeborn Festival, with an exciting double bill: the European premiere of The Wanton Sublime by twice Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O'Regan (Heart of Darkness) and Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Medium.

With a libretto adapted by feminist New York poet Anna Rabinowitz from her eponymous poetry collection, The Wanton Sublime is a ground-breaking electro-acoustic work for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble. It explores the human and mythic aspects of the Virgin Mary, who struggles to retain her flesh and blood identity in the face of external forces intent on symbolising her as the ideal woman. Unusually, the work shows Mary as an ordinary woman with extraordinary powers rather than making her an overtly religious character.

The Medium is Peter Maxwell Davies’ most daring work - a one-act opera for an a cappella singer. With no extraneous effects, the music powers up the listener’s imagination conjuring a claustrophobic, all-encompassing world. The Medium explores the mind of a woman driven mad in a world constructed by men, as she struggles with her identity when pressure to conform becomes too great.