The opera Trade takes place in a hotel room in Dublin.
The room is a deliciously lifted diorama who’s color shifts to reflect changes in time and mood. The world beyond the hotel room is never seen but its presence and attitudes are felt in every syllable. It is a traditionally conservative world the characters have to navigate.
In this space within a space, bit by bit the audience will learn the story of what has brought the two men together for a secret meeting. The first man we meet is much younger and establishes an awkward tension as he figitedly waits as the older man to emerge from the bathroom where he is brushing his teeth. The sound of the brushing adds an interesting humanity to the orchestration. Emma O’Halloran. Composed Trade similar to Mary Motörhead, but less forward, it sits back in a more supportive role, but the blend of electronica with the instrumentation is still interesting.
Revelations come about slowly through a long conversation between the two men. There is an imbalance of power between the two, but as the opera progresses the power becomes less and less one sided and shifts in both directions.
Trade is a negotiation. On the surface the trade is between the two men, but really it is a negotiation with their own past, present, and future regarding the identity society has imposed on them and the identity they would choose for themsselves.
I found Trade to be a beautifully sensitive opera and I left the theatre thinking of the kindest wisdoms,“live and let live, love is love, and do onto others…”
So What Is Trade All About: It is the story of two closeted men with children who are in heterosexual relationships. The older man is there however to pay the younger man for sex. It’s not for the first time, but this time is different as they reveal their vulnerabilities to one another.
Notes on the Production:
Composer………………………………… Emma O’Halloran
Librettist………………………………….. Mark O’Halloran
Older Man………………………………… Marc Kusisch
Younger Man…………………………….. Kyle Bielfield
Electronic Sound Design……………. Alex Dowling
Lighting Design………………………… Christopher Kuhl
Scenic Design……………………………. Jim Findlay
Sound Designer…………………..……. Garth Macaleavey
Director…………………………………… Tom Creed
Elaine Kelly……………………………… Music Director
Prototype
Playhouse Theater at Abrons Arts Center
1/14/23