Irish National Opera Presents: This Hostel Life
27–29 June, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Evangelia Rigaki’s new installation opera, This Hostel Life, is based on a collection of three short stories by the Nigerian writer, Melatu Uche Okorie, who has lived in Ireland since 2006.
Stories of migrant women living in Ireland recount a day in the life of women queuing for basic supplies in an Irish direct provision hostel and a young black woman’s depiction of everyday racism in Ireland. The nuanced writing shines a light on the injustice of the direct provision system and on the insidious racism that migrant women living in Ireland are exposed to. The third story is set outside of Ireland, in a Nigeria of the past, and tells of a woman’s life destroyed by an ancient superstition. Okorie believes that the woman’s fierce determination to carry on is a quality universally shared by women.
Rigaki’s imaginative use of the unique space of the crypt in Christ Church Cathedral will create an installation of immersive live opera in which members of the audience are free to travel between the various stories. The composer and several of the cast members are participants in this year’s INO Studio, a new venture aimed at developing Ireland’s top emerging operatic talent.
CAST
Soprano Rachel Croash
Soprano Amy Ní Fhearraigh
Tenor Andrew Gavin
Bass-baritone Robert McAllister
Parabasis Ensemble