![Giant the opera: image of a giant behind a curtain.](https://supercool-bpa.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/Aldeburgh-Festival-2023/Giant-Final.jpg?w=1180&h=380&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.4869&fp-y=0.2305&dm=1693322693&s=6bf0398d5768902c27098db414952713)
World Premiere: Giant
A brand-new opera from visionary composer Sarah Angliss, telling the story of the 18th-century “Irish giant” who was betrayed in the name of science.
“First do no harm”, every doctor says. But what happens when a patient’s body is so extraordinary, his corpse becomes an object of desire – a trophy? Giant tells the true tale of surgeon John Hunter and his obsession with Charles Byrne – a man he would ultimately betray in one of the most disturbing acts in the era of the grave robbers.
Written for five voices, Giant uses 18th-century
instruments, live electronics and bespoke music machines as it vividly recalls the events surrounding
Byrne’s death: an extraordinary story that resonates through the ages.
Giant is a new opera from composer Sarah Angliss, poet Ross Sutherland and director Sarah Fahie.
World Premiere, Friday 09 June at 7.30pm, preceded by a talk with Sarah Angliss.