Eirik Grøtvedt

A machine that turns stones into bread, a bearded lady, a mental hospital and love. This is a journey down a delightfully dark spiral into the mind of a Tom Rakewell. For Tom, the combination of being lackadaisical and greedy is dangerous; and he learns the hard way. He is madly in love with the kind-hearted Anne Trulove, but there’s a hitch – her father wants Tom to have a job, but Tom feels he is not cut out for a life of drudgery! Fortunately, the diabolical Nick Shadow shows up and announces an opportune money inheritance from an obscure uncle, so Tom goes to London in search of happiness… and meets madness on the way.

Maths teacher Claire hears a mysterious low-frequency noise and the pollution is driving her crazy. The constant ‘hum’ drives her away from her family and towards others who also hear the same all-consuming sound. This support group offers compassion but what lies behind their cult-like rituals? Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's brand new opera is a thriller about social rejection, the abuse of power and echo chambers. Based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill, The Listeners is inspired by an identified phenomenon, the ‘global hum’. Grammy-nominated Mazzoli was the first woman to be commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and has already successfully collaborated with librettist Vavrek, with whom she wrote the opera Breaking the Waves.