MEDIATHEK

4.48 Psychosis (opera) is a musical setting of the final play of the British playwright Sarah Kane. It is the first permitted musical adaptation of any of Kane's work. It was written on the Doctoral Composer in Residence scheme between the Royal Opera and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with a specific focus on incorporating various forms of non-sung text in an operatic form.
 
Kane’s play (1999) does not specify cast or stage directions, instead presenting 24 fragmented episodes that draw on Kane’s own struggles with depression. Kane’s message is dark and at times harrowing, but leavened with poetry, humour and a humane warmth that deepens the text’s emotional impact. (A full synopsis is available in the programme book.)  The opera is set for six female singers and chamber ensemble, and aims to put Kane's remarkable text front and centre in an immersive audience experience.  
 
The opera was widely acclaimed for its originality, imagination in use of text and its emotional depth.  It won the 2016 UK Theatre Award for Achievement in Opera and the 2017 Royal Philhamonic Society Award for Large-Scale Composition and the 2017 British Composer Award for Stage Work, and was nominated for the 2017 Olivier Award and 2017 Southbank Sky Arts Award for Best New Opera Production.  The opera was premiered in 2016 and revived by the Royal Opera in 2018, and a new german version is being prepared for Semperoper 2 in Dresden, to premiere in April 2019.