Giant
Electroacoustic chamber opera
Composer: Sarah Angliss
Librettist: Ross Sutherland
Director and dramaturg: Sarah Fahie
Costume design: Nicky Gillibrand
Scenic design: Hyemi Shin
Lighting design: Adam Silverman
WORLD PREMIERE
ALDEBURGH FESTIVAL
7:30pm FRI 9 JUNE 2023
SECOND PERFORMANCE
3:30pm SAT 10 JUNE 2023
“First, do no harm” every doctor says. But what happens when a patient’s body is so extraordinary, his corpse becomes an object of desire – a trophy?
Giant tells the story of surgeon and anatomist John Hunter and his obsession with Charles Byrne – a man he would ultimately betray in one of the most disturbing acts in the era of the grave robbers.
This new opera is from composer Sarah Angliss, poet Ross Sutherland and director Sarah Fahie.
Arguably, we are all beneficiaries of Hunter’s research – some of which was conducted on the remains of Byrne. But Charles Byrne was more than a medical specimen. His extraordinary body made him a curiosity – a public spectacle, in life and in death. Written for five voices, Giant also uses eighteenth century instruments, live electronics and bespoke musical automata as it vividly recalls the events surrounding Byrne’s death – a disquieting story that resonates through the ages.
Men forget –
I did not craft the skull.
I made no designs upon the heart
I was not the author
of our laws of decay…
I am their enduring servant–
John Hunter
from Giant libretto (Ross Sutherland)
SYNPOSIS
Charles Byrne (1761–1783), ‘The Irish Giant’, was considered a living wonder, a freak, a gentleman, a fine performer, an ‘ill-bred beast’ and a person who held within his bones secrets which surgeon and anatomist John Hunter longed to understand.
When Charles exhibited himself in London as a piece of living art, John was smitten by his extraordinary physique. He visited Charles after a show, offering him money, medicine and friendship. Charles saw John as an ally but John was actually after a trade: In return for money and attention, John wanted sole access to Charles’ body after death so he could dissect it and put it on public display.
Living in terror of this fate, Charles refused John’s request and paid undertakers to keep his body safe. They promised to seal his corpse in a lead-lined coffin, carry it to Margate and drop it in the sea. But when Charles was on his deathbed, John sent an accomplice to spy on him and intercept his funeral procession. Unbeknown to the mourners, the coffin dropped into the sea at Margate contained nothing more than rocks. The corpse had been stolen. It was brought back to London then boiled to strip the flesh from the bones. John worked so furiously on the body, he scorched the bones as he extracted them, losing vital evidence about Byrne’s medical condition.
Hunter kept his theft secret at first, then hinted about it in cryptic letters to friends (‘I have a tall man, I can’t wait for you to see him’).
In the final moments of the opera, we see Byrne’s skeleton on public display where it was exhibited until 2016 (it has just been taken off display). It’s debatable how much Hunter’s professional vanity or his desire for medical progress prompted him to betray Byrne – the tragedy at the heart of this opera.
A CALL FOR RESTITUTION
It took many years for John Hunter to admit he’d stolen Charles Byrne’s body. He revealed this in stages, first in cryptic letters to friends (see above), then within a portrait, in which he instructed the painter Joshua Reynolds to depict two long legs in the shadows. Some years after Charles’ death, John put the skeleton on public display as part of his collection of medical specimens.
The events surrounding Byrne’s death occured in the 1790s, long before the era of medical consent. However Byrne’s case is unusual for the time as he made his wishes for a sea burial explicit. It was his way to escape ‘the resurrection men’ who stole corpses to order for medical teaching and research. Some argue there are reasonable ethical grounds to keep Byrne’s skeleton on display or at least within Hunter’s collection. His bones may contain useful clues for those researching pituitary tumours. Others argue it’s time for restitution: we should honour Byrne’s wishes and give him the sea burial he desired.
UPDATE 2023: BYRNE TO BE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC DISPLAY
Byrne’s skeleton remained on public display until 2016 when the Hunterian Museum closed for refurbishment. In January 2023, museum director Dawn Kemp announced his skeleton will not be on display when the Hunterian reopens in the spring. It no longer felt appropriate to exhibit Byrne in the public galleries – but his body will be kept for study and research.
Some see this as a good compromise, balancing Byrne’s wishes with the needs of medical researchers. However medico-legal ethicist Thomas Muinzer challenges the notion that a researcher’s interests should over-rule anyone’s wishes about their burial. This is a debate where there are no absolutes – but respecting Byrne’s privacy, two centuries after the theft of his body, seems to be an elightened step.
Production details
London-based composer and electronic artist Sarah Angliss joins forces with librettist Ross Sutherland and director Sarah Fahie. Sutherland is a poet and performer whose work is tightly bound to moving image. Fahie is a director particularly renowned for her absorbing movement language, working as trusted movement director for the Royal Opera and English National Opera.
Angliss’ finely-wrought, highly inventive music explores the sonorities of voices and ancient instruments, revealing and augmenting them with her distinctive electronic techniques. Her score for Giant also makes extensive use of viola da gamba, an instrument whose deep and mournful timbre has long been associated with the tomb. Angliss will also be using bespoke musical automata, her own contemporary updates on the eighteenth century Hall of Wonders. This, combined with Sutherlands’ visually compelling language and Fahie’s sensitivity to the subject matter is an exciting proposition.
Supported by the Jerwood Opera Writing Fellowship between 2016-18, this creative team have been working and developing this concept for five years now. They are now working towards their first production – new to be announced soon.
Sarah is also grateful to Britten-Pears Arts for funding and enabling access to singers, musicians and tech, for their rehearsal spaces and residencies at Snape Maltings and The Red House. This invaluable support has given Sarah the necessary time, space and resources to develop Giant.
cREATIVE TEAM
Composer Sarah Angliss
Librettist Ross Sutherland
Director Sarah Fahie
Scenic design Hyemi Shin
Costume design Nicky Gillibrand
Lighting design Adam Silverman
ENQUIRIES
Charlotte Hartley, Producer
Britten Pears Arts
Roger Wright, Chief Executive
Britten Pears Arts
Emails to both at:
VOICES
Tenor Charles Byrne ('The Irish Giant')
Baritone John Hunter (surgeon and anatomist)
Mezzo-soprano Mr Rooker
Soprano Madam Duval*
Alto Sister Mary*
Silent actor Howison
*These singers also perform smaller roles, e.g. museum curators and mourners.
INSTRUMENTS
Violin x 2
Viola
Viola
Viola da gamba
Recorder
Percussion
Conductor on clavisimbalum