The Weight of Light
One-act Chamber Opera
About the opera:
The Weight of Light is a one-act chamber opera with music by Gillian Rae Perry and libretto by Marcus Amaker. It was commissioned by Chicago Opera Theater and received a piano vocal workshop in December of 2023 as well as a concert premiere in April of 2024. The work has yet to receive a fully staged world premiere.
The Story:
When a child inherits a magical ability that allows them to speak with objects, it opens up a new world of possibilities. Their mother, who shares the same ability, sees their predicament as a source of shame. Both child and parent learn to navigate their powers and the responsibilities that come with it in this deeply sensitive coming-of-age story.
Full score is here.
Recommended Excerpts:
page 1 of the score, measure 1-29, recording 0:22-2:00
page 52 of the score, measure 308-341, recording 17:10-19:28
page 92 of the score, measure 566-635, recording 32:18-36:39
Archival recorded by the Chicago Opera Theater, April 27, 2024
I’m Sorry to My Body
Full Orchestra
I’m Sorry to My Body is both an open apology to my body and an exploration of the relationship between physical presence (body) and metaphysical presence (emotion, mind, spirit).
I wrote a poem dedicated to similar topics that I pulled inspiration from as I wrote this piece:
I’m sorry to my hands
I’ve left you trembling
I’m sorry to my arms
I’ve left you aching
I’m sorry to my stomach I’ve left you empty
I’m sorry to my mind I’ve left you fragmenting broken pieces, gently –
I’m sorry to my body I’ve tried so hard to leave you
Full score is here.
I’m Sorry to My Body was workshopped and performed by the Chicago Philharmonic as part of the Breaking Barriers Festival at Ravinia, curated by Marin Alsop.
Recorded July, 2023
What Will I Wish for Now?
Poetry Book and Album
What Will I Wish for Now? is a collection of poems and recorded pieces about grief. Each poem has a corresponding piece of music that can be found in the playlist provided. Some pieces function as atmospheric music, while others are in a more traditional “song” format. I wrote the poems over the course of 2 years. In 2022, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The poems of this book are divided into poems that I wrote before my dad passed away and poems that I wrote after he died. All music was written, recorded, performed, and edited by me.
This is a printed work. The E-book version is here.
The run time of the work if listened to in order from start to finish is 45 minutes. For the purposes of review, I recommend listening to and reading tracks/poems 1, 12, 14, and 18.
Published September, 2024