The Galloping Cure in the Press
The Guardian
Opioids the Opera: painkiller’s ‘lurid tale of greed’ inspires new production
The Times
Modern opera ‘needs to attract good writers and tell better stories’.
John Berry, former ENO artistic director, says the art form must involve contemporary figures like the Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne.
Press Release
Opera Meets the Opioid Age
Opera Ventures Productions and Scottish Opera present the world premiere of The Galloping Cure at the Edinburgh International Festival, 9 August 2026
TRAILER AVAILABLE HERE
LONDON, 11 March 2026: Opera Ventures Productions, Scottish Opera, and international partners announce the commission of The Galloping Cure by Missy Mazzoli. An uncompromising new opera for an age of dependency and despair which confronts the opioid crisis and addiction through a hauntingly beautiful allegory.
Developed through Opera Ventures Productions’ internationally recognised co-production model, pioneered by founder and former English National Opera Artistic Director John Berry and executive director Loretta Tomasi, and realised in close partnership with Scottish Opera, The Galloping Cure represents a major commitment to new work at a time when large-scale opera commissions are increasingly rare. The project was made possible by an unprecedented coalition of funders and producing partners spanning Europe, North America, and Australia — demonstrating what can be achieved when ambition, collaboration, and shared risk sit at the heart of operatic creation.
The Galloping Cure reunites the creative team behind the international success of Breaking the Waves: Scottish Opera, Opera Ventures Productions, Grammy-nominated composer Missy Mazzoli, Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Royce Vavrek, Tony Award-winning director Tom Morris and a group of ambitious international collaborators, who have created a new opera in response to the global addiction crisis, set to premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival.
“The opioid crisis is not an abstract subject for us,” says Mazzoli. “Royce and I have both experienced its devastation first-hand. Opera gives us the scale and emotional range to create something that is compassionate, unsettling, and illuminating — a space where beauty and pain can exist together.”
Opera Ventures Productions has become one of the key drivers of large-scale contemporary opera by building international coalitions that share cost, risk, and creative ambition pioneering a 21st-century model, now widely emulated, that has enabled new works to be commissioned and toured at scale. Its previous projects include Greek (Mark-Anthony Turnage), Breaking the Waves (Missy Mazzoli), and Ainadamar (Osvaldo Golijov), all of which have toured globally.
Berry, whose collaboration model developed at the ENO has reshaped how new opera is financed and toured internationally, said: “Commissioning new opera is one of the most challenging — and essential — responsibilities we have. This piece exists because organisations across continents chose to back a work with something urgent to say. It could not exist without Scottish Opera’s sustained commitment, seven years of collaboration, and deep investment in developing this work from the ground up. ‘The Galloping Cure’ shows how immediate and communicative opera can be when music, theatre, and design are allowed to work at full force.”
Scottish Opera has been a partner in this model, bringing seven years of collaboration with Opera Ventures Productions to The Galloping Cure. As Scotland's national touring company, Scottish Opera's workshop and production skills are specifically designed to create sets that adapt to theatres of different sizes, making them the ideal partner for international touring productions.
Inspired by Franz Kafka’s 1917 short story A Country Doctor and based on an original tale by Pulitzer Prize finalist and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Karen Russell, The Galloping Cure follows Dr Theresa Hart as she struggles to ease the suffering of her rural community. When the charismatic Lucky Mack arrives with a carousel that promises to eliminate pain entirely, the offer proves irresistible. The first ride is free, but getting off is much harder.
The Galloping Cure is a devastating vision of a crumbling society confronting one of the defining crises of contemporary life; addiction and the seductive myths that surround it.
Mazzoli’s score blends orchestral and choral writing with club rhythms and DJ-influenced textures, creating a hallucinatory sound world in which operatic voices soar over pulsing beats. Folk instruments collide with swirling brass and strings, producing what the composer describes as “a dark parallel to our own world — devastating and gorgeous in equal measure.” Renowned stage designer Rebecca Ringst complements the score with immersive audiovisual design, transforming a post-industrial townscape into a fever dream that mirrors the opera’s psychological descent.
Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford said “Missy Mazzoli’s music speaks directly to contemporary audiences while remaining unmistakably operatic. This score is thrilling to conduct — moving from moments of devastating intimacy to overwhelming, visceral soundscapes. Working with Opera Ventures Productions and our international partners has allowed us to take real risks on a piece of this scale and urgency.”
The cast is led by Argentinian mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, making her Scottish Opera debut as Dr Theresa Hart, baritone Justin Austin (Rising Star of the Year, 2024 International Opera Awards) as Lucky Mack, and Susan Bullock as Ivona Kowalski. They are joined by Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Edward Jowle and Luvo Maranti, and former Emerging Artists Catriona Hewitson, Lea Shaw, and Ross Cumming. Casting for the role of Noy is to be announced.
Co-commissioners include Opera Ventures Productions, Scottish Opera, NorrlandsOperan AB (Sweden, supported by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond), Edinburgh International Festival, and San Francisco Opera. The production will be co-produced with State Opera of South Australia and Canadian Opera Company, ensuring the work reaches audiences worldwide.
Performances of The Galloping Cure will take place 9, 11 and 12 August 2026, at Edinburgh International Festival. Tickets are available from 11 March at www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/the-galloping-cure/
The Galloping Cure is kindly supported by a syndicate of donors including the Sarah and Howard Solomon Foundation, Susie Thomson, Eli and Ashley Wald, Malcolm Herring, Sally Groves in memory of Dennis Marks and the New Commissions Circle.
-ENDS-
Performance diary
9,11 &12 August 7pm
Festival Theatre Edinburgh
Cast
Theresa Albertine Hart, The Doctor
Daniela Mack
Lucky Mack
Justin Austin
Ivona Kowalski
Susan Bullock
Samatha (Sam)
Edward Jowle
Megan (Meg)
Catriona Hewitson
Mayor
Luvo Maranti
Zoe
Rosie Lavery
Erin
Lea Shaw
Shawna
Donna Bateman
Duane
Connor James Smith
Jackie Boy
Frank Church
Warren
Ross Cumming
Creative team
Conductor
Stuart Stratford
Composer
Missy Mazzoli
Libretto
Royce Vavrek
Original story
Karen Russell
Director & Dramaturg
Tom Morris
Set and props designer
Rebecca Ringst
Associate Director & Movement Director
Leah Hausmann
Costume Designer
Christina Cunningham
Lighting Designer
Lucy Carter
Projection Designer
Will Duke
Beats by
Blume and Lorna Dune
Mixed by
Lorna Dune
Notes to Editors
Opera Ventures Productions
https://www.operaventures.org/
Opera Ventures Productions was created by John Berry CBE and an exceptionally talented artistic team to transform the way that opera is produced, challenging the expensive production costs faced by opera houses with a model that creates exceptional opera at a fraction of the cost, engaging new audiences with affordable tickets.
John Berry CBE
John Berry is the AD and founder of Opera Ventures Productions, spearheading critically acclaimed new productions with buy in from around the world, including Greek, Breaking The Waves and Ainadamar, recently seen at Met and LA Opera.
As the award winning former boss of English National Opera (2005-15), he introduced many new creatives into the opera world, including Anthony Minghella, Fiona Shaw, Terry Gilliam and Damon Albarn, with more than 16 productions going to the Metropolitan Opera in a trailblazing co-producing partnership. His productions travelled to more than 40 Cities worldwide and his work with composers including John Adams, Philip Glass, Hans Werner Henze, Dentlev Glanert and Damon Albarn, established ENO as a major force in the opera world. The upcoming La Fanciulla Del West at The Met was one amongst his successes.
As a leading opinion former in the opera world, he has consulted for many organisations, including as creative advisor for The Bolshoi Theatre, and consultant to Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Australia and Vienna Staatsoper.
His work continues to innovate, with projects developed for commercial theatre through his company Scenario Two, across plays and musicals, including the upcoming Pavarotti musical with Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) and composer Jacob Collier (seven-time Grammy winner).