MEDIATHEK

Occō’s Eternal Act
 A Chamber Opera in Three Scenes for Five Voices and Chamber Ensemble
 Libretto: Oge Nwosu
 Music: Daniel Saleeb
 
 All those years, I never wanted these people. And now I can’t be rid of them.
 Trapped in a Purgatorial space peopled with four significant characters from his life, Occō forces them to perform, for you, his imaginary audience.
 
 To commence his Act he presents Man and Woman; a couple so devastated by an unnamed catastrophe that they have become incapable of meaningful communication with one another. Despite his role as Showman, Occō cannot retain complete command of the show - so animates instead two teenage boys who were once his friends. Wracked by conflicting feelings of exclusion and control, Occō is compelled to return to the beginning of his Act.
 
 The culmination of a year spent on Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s MA in Opera Making & Writing, in Association with the Royal Opera House, this work was premiered at Milton Ct, Barbican, London in July 2017. It had a second, concert performance at the V&A, London in January 2018 as part of the Opera, Passion, Power & Politics exhibition.