Operatic works

Helena (2021) - Sci-fi Chamber opera in one act

Picking up where Karel Čapek’s seminal 1920 play RUR left off, Helena is both a sci-fi romance and a meditation on transhumanism.

 Primus, a robot, and Helena, one of the last humans, have escaped to create a new life in secret. As Helena’s human memory begins to fail, the lovers resolve to find a way of uploading her mind before it is lost – and with it the last knowledge of how Rossum’s robots were created.

Music and words: Marco Galvani, Musical director: Sam Poppleton, Director: Annemiek van Elst, Producer: Jessie Anand

Helena: Beca Davies, Primus: Will Frost, Hunter: George Robarts, Oracle: Anita Monserrat

Violin: Kath Robarts, Viola: Cameron Howe, Cello: Dominic Veall, Synthesizers and live electronics: Marco Galvani

Autopilot Saves Model S (2017) - A chamber opera in one act

This one act opera was created in collaboration with Leo Mercer, a poet, librettist, and theatre-maker with whom I have collaborated on many projects in recent years. His radical approach to language and aesthetics is incredibly refreshing, and our collaboration led us to create an opera based on the story of Joshua Brown, the first known fatality in an auto-pilot car. The opera tells this story through the frame of Annalyn Kurtz, a journalist charged with the task of writing an article about Brown, and over the course of the piece she gradually constructs her article, all the while researching this tragic incident online. This piece was first performed at the Oxford University Maths Institute in 2017 by Faded Ink Productions.

Photos L-R: With cast and producers on BBC Oxford Radio station, Twm Watkins directing rehearsals, with Leo Mercer at the first performance, Leo during rehearsals, me conducting an early rehearsal.

Rothschild’s Violin (2015) - A chamber opera in one act

My first chamber opera was based on a story by Anton Chekhov, in which Yakov, a local coffin-maker falls out with Rothschild, a wealthy flautist. The two reconcile over the course of the piece, and eventually Rothschild gives his violin to Yakov while the latter is on his deathbed. An allegorical tale on the communicative power of music, the violin represents the passing on of art to give others consolation. This piece was performed in a run of shows in New College, Oxford, under the direction of Jam Orrell in February 2016, and produced by New Chamber Opera.

Photos L-R: Salvador Mascarenhas (Yakov) and Lila Chrisp (Martha) during rehearsal, promotional material, ensemble during rehearsal, Salvador performing during the dress rehearsal, Salvador and Matthew (Rothschild) performing during the dress rehearsal.

Secular Vocal works

Fables (2024) - for voice and piano

A new song cycle written for Rose Rands based on adaptations of Aesop’s Fables. First performances coming in 2025

The Year’s Midnight (2023) - Cantata for choir and strings

Scores can be purchased from Faber through Birdsong Publishing

The Year’s Midnight is a 30 minute cantata written for the Yehudi Menuhin School choir and strings. Newly written poetry from Gillian Clarke (former National Poet of Wales) runs through the piece, with interludes titled ‘murmurations’, in which the strings imitate flowing flocks of birds. The first performance of this work will be conducted by the composer on 13th December 2023 at the Menuhin Hall as part of the Hall’s Winter Festival.

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

Homeward Bound (2019) - Mezzo-soprano and piano

This setting of a Liverpool folk song ‘Goodbye fare thee well’ was commissioned by Jennifer Johnston for her debut album, which features the work of composers from the North West, including Mark Simpson, Stephen Hough and Bethan Morgan-Williams. My piece is a short interpretation of the folk tune, with the refain being reharmonised with increasing drama as the piece proceeds.

About the album Johnston writes: I have sung across the globe and experienced many wonderful places, yet I love nowhere more than Liverpool: the gateway to the Atlantic, my native land, my beloved city, my home.

Im Not There (2018-20) - a song cycle for soprano and ensemble (20’)

This piece originally began as a small setting of Leo Mercer’s fabulous tweet poem that reads as follows:

im not there, but im thereing, to a somewhere, where, like this, i have this’d and that’d, eversince when and more and more, who knows/cares, im there

The brevity of this text had a big impression on me, so after hearing this piece performed at the Royal Academy of Music as part of the Songbook Project in 2018, I have been expanding it into a larger song cycle that sets texts by Gillian Clarke, Michelangelo, and Pablo Neruda, all reflecting on the idea of passing time and nostalgia.