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The Elephant Angel

This is an example of an original composition sharing new insights into the possibilities for engaging new audiences through contemporary opera. Williams worked with librettist Bernard MacLaverty to create an opera that would connect directly with audiences of all ages. Commissioned by Scottish Opera (where Williams is Composer in Residence) and set in Belfast during World War Two, The Elephant Angel is based on the true story of a Belfast zookeeper who, during the Belfast Blitz, took a baby elephant home with her each evening to keep it safe. Through this eccentric act of kindness, the elephant escaped the fate of the other animals.

The Elephant Angel toured Scotland and Northern Ireland as part of Scottish Opera’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations. In each performance, the professional cast of two (and a seven-piece ensemble) were joined by five singers from Scottish Opera’s Connect programme and thirty children from a local primary school, while further thirty local children worked on the promotion of the performance and took front-of-house responsibilities.

The impact of this work lies significantly in its emotional engagement of a wide, new, audience for opera. As a review in Bachtrack commented: “The Elephant Angel was a particularly haunting tale which the audience and performers, many of whom were experiencing opera for the first time, will take home with them. They will talk about the strange story and the humanity and kindness of the keeper, but will remember exactly how they felt when the animals were taken away. Television will never get close to packing the punch that live opera of this quality achieves.” (http://www.bachtrack.com/review-dundee-gardyne-theatre-scottish-opera-elephant-angel, accessed 6 November 2013)

For the purposes of this submission, the 'co-author' is Bernard McLaverty, librettist.