MARS
Four astronauts and an AI software interface are cooped up in the cabin of a space-craft for nine months on a mission to Mars.
As they journey across the vast abyss of space, tensions rise, relationships are tested, seasons of Real Housewives are watched and re-watched. Arriving on the red planet, they confront isolation, sinister ideologies, the prospect of alien life, and a vibe-shift toward corporate authoritarianism. MARS is an opera about space colonisation, reactionary futurism, pronatalism, the madness of hustle culture, and the unsettling futures encroaching on our present.
Co-produced with Opéra de Lille.
Commissioned by Irish National Opera, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Klangforum Wien and Opéra de Lille.
“The most original compositional voice to emerge from Ireland in the past 20 years.” - The Irish Times on Jennifer Walshe
Cast & Creative Team
Cast
| Nina Guo | Sally |
| Jade Phoenix | Valentina |
| Sarah Richmond | Judith |
| Doreen Curran | Svetlana |
Creative Team
| Jennifer Walshe | Composer |
| Mark O’Connell | Libretto |
| Elaine Kelly | Conductor |
| Tom Creed & Jennifer Walshe | Co-Directors |
| Aedin Cosgrove | Set & Lighting Designer |
| Catherine Fay | Costume Designer |
| Conan McIvor | Video Designer |
| Una Monaghan | Sound Designer |
| Bryan Burroughs | Movement Director |
