Digital Album Release of Emma O’Halloran & Mark O’Halloran Trade / Mary Motorhead
“virtuosic showcases” - New York Times
“O’Halloran’s music is various and dramatic, experimental but melodic, with plenty of sparky electronic elements alongside traditional instrumentation” - Irish Independent
When this double bill of new Irish operas premiered in the US and toured Ireland they met with instant acclaim. Now, Irish National Opera is delighted to announce that a brand new digital recording of the two searing short operas Trade and Mary Motorhead will be released by Signum Records on Friday 15 August 2025.
To celebrate the release of this exciting new album INO will host an exclusive conversation with the artists on Friday 15 August at 6pm. You can tune in via Irish National Opera’s YouTube channel. Playback will be available for 24 hours.
Adapted by Irish composer Emma O’Halloran from her uncle Mark O’Halloran’s plays, and conducted by Grammy Award nominee Elaine Kelly, both operas delve into the complexities of modern life, featuring characters in unexpected situations, reacting to the twists and turns that life has thrown at them. Mark O’Halloran’s (Adam & Paul, Garage) texts cut straight to the raw emotional core of each character, while Emma O’Halloran’s score combines beauty and drama in the vocal lines with echoes of 80’s gritty electronic music layered over the orchestral accompaniment, creating a new and unique soundscape.
In the monodrama Mary Motorhead “the vivid, charismatic Naomi Louisa O’Connell” (New York Times) sings the title role. The Irish mezzo-soprano “is electrifying as Mary” (Seen and Heard International). In prison after stabbing her husband in the head, Mary Motorhead reflects on the events that brought their turbulent rural marriage to such a crisis, while he lies in intensive care.
Set in a guesthouse in Dublin’s north inner city, Trade opens with a vulnerable young rent boy sung by tenor Oisín Ó Dálaigh sitting with a middle-aged client performed by bass John Molloy. The older man has blood on his shirt. A lot has happened since the two last met.
Trade / Mary Motorhead is sung in English. A co-production with Beth Morrison Projects.
Digital Download available from Friday 15 August.
Online Launch event taking place Friday 15 August at 6pm on Irish National Opera’s YouTube channel. Playback will be available for 24 hours.