Opera

Opera, by the leading composer Morgan Hayes, takes its title from the 1987 film by the Italian director Dario Argento, famed for his work in the giallo horror genre. Though the story concerns a jinxed production of Verdi’s opera Macbeth, the intense, highly charged music relates less to the physical action than to the prowling camerawork, abrupt jump-cutting and other techniques that contribute to the heightened melodrama uniquely characteristic of Argento’s style.

Lasting about seven minutes, Opera has already been featured by several leading young violinists offering exciting new material in their recitals, and will be no less valued for its technical and interpretative challenges as a conservatoire test-piece at diploma level. A recording by Darragh Morgan and Mary Dullea was released on the prestigious NMC label.

Opera takes its title from the film of the same name by the Italian director Dario Argento, famed for his work in the giallo genre. Essentially a sophisticated melodrama, Italian style, the story concerns a haunted production of Verdi’s Macbeth. My piece takes its cue less from the narrative than from the stylised violence and abrupt cutting of the cinematic texture, hopefully to capture something of that particular sense of heightened awareness characteristic of Argento’s film-making.