Missy Mazzoli Opioids Opera The Galloping Cure Premieres at Edinburgh Festival

Composer Missy Mazzoli premiered her new opera, The Galloping Cure, on Sunday at the Edinburgh International Festival. According to the Associated Press, the production uses a carnival merry-go-round as an allegory to portray the destructive power of the opioid epidemic.

The work is a collaboration between Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. The plot centers on a charismatic charlatan known as Lucky Man, played by baritone Justin Austin, who arrives in a community called Yourtown. According to the Associated Press, Lucky Man offers residents free rides on fiberglass horses to ease chronic pain, eventually hooking the population and implementing dynamic pricing as he begins charging for the rides.

As the town descends into addiction, Lucky Man demands physical payments in the form of tongues, kneecaps, hair, and noses to build more carousel horses. The Associated Press reports that the story follows the tragedy of Dr. Theresa Hart, played by mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, whose endorsement of the charlatan leads to the death of her daughter, Noy, played by soprano Gabrielle Turgeon.

Mazzoli’s motivation for the piece stems from personal loss. She told the Associated Press that the desire to compose an opera about opioids was sparked by the deaths of two cousins at age 25; one died from an OxyContin overdose in 2002, and another died from heroin in 2009 after becoming addicted via OxyContin.

Development and Literary Influences

Mazzoli and Vavrek developed the project after commissioning a treatment in 2022 from author Karen Russell. According to the Associated Press, the creators used a weird fairy tale approach to avoid a predictable or preachy narrative.

The creative team used Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor as a primary starting point. Russell described the story as representing a floorless void of existential suffering and physical agony that feels like a fever dream, according to the Associated Press. Russell also noted the influence of the Brothers Grimm, comparing the charlatan’s arrival to the way the devil appears during times of extreme desperation.

The project received a green light following a 2023 meeting in Paris during a performance of Mazzoli and Vavrek’s earlier work, Breaking the Waves, at the Opéra Comique. According to the Associated Press, the trio later developed the thematic structure and initial melodies at Hawkwood, a retreat in the English Cotswolds, arranged by former English National Opera artistic director John Berry.

Career Milestones and Future Productions

The Edinburgh premiere marks the start of a high-profile period for the 45-year-old New Yorker. According to the Associated Press, Mazzoli will become the first woman composer with a premiere at New York’s Metropolitan Opera with Lincoln in the Bardo on Oct. 19. This 71-day span between major premieres is compared by the Associated Press to a similar gap in 1853 when Giuseppe Verdi debuted Il Trovatore and La Traviata 46 days apart.

Mazzoli and Vavrek have established a long-term partnership since meeting in 2009. Their previous joint works include:

• Song from the Uproar (2012)
• Breaking the Waves (2016)
• Proving Up (2018)
• The Listeners (2022)

Following the Edinburgh run, which concludes Wednesday, The Galloping Cure is scheduled for the following engagements, according to the Associated Press:

• Sweden’s Norrlands Opera from Sept. 12-23.
• San Francisco Opera in the fall of 2027.