Gavin Bryars · aftercurtain

Shows & credits

Doctor Ox's Experiment

Music · Opera · 1998

In the sedate Flemish town of Quiquendone, scientist Doctor Ox introduces a gas that speeds up the inhabitants’ lives and thoughts. The town’s cautious leaders approve his project, and the experiment turns a performance of Les Huguenots into chaos, stirring duels and rivalries. In the second act, political agitation becomes a plan to attack a neighboring town; after Ygène protests and an explosion wrecks the town, the residents return to their normal selves and Frantz and Suzel reunite.

Irma

Music · Opera · 1970

An experimental opera assembled from 93 phrases drawn from W. H. Mallock’s novel A Human Document and reworked by Tom Phillips. The phrases became sound suggestions, libretto, and staging directions; the work uses elements including dance episodes and a drinking chorus.

The Swimmer

Composer · Ballet · 2015

After attending a party, an unnamed man decide to go home by swimming in various pools, only to discover his home is gone. At the end of the ballet, a projection shows a man in the ocean.

the CIVIL warS: a tree is best measured when it is down

Music · Opera · 1983

Conceived as a daylong, international music-theatre work for the 1984 Olympics, this five-act project combines sections by composers from several countries. The planned complete performance was cancelled, but four sections received productions; they include a Cologne family and political drama and a Rome act depicting figures from the American Civil War.

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