Apollo's Mission

Once upon a time, fifty years ago, Apollo (the sun-god) was President of Everything, while his dim sister (the moon-goddess) was just a cabaret artiste in a seedy nightclub. As the Americans invade the moon in July 1969, events take a sinister turn and chaos ensues. Can the gods sort it out or is the “dickhead” President too dysfunctional? Adding a bonkers twist to the Apollo 11 commemorations, this fun-opera investigates our fascination for all things lunar. Apollo’s Mission confuses fact with fiction, earth with moon, god-like humans with a Trump-like god - and then with now.

August 2019  The Place Theatre  London
as part of the 2019 Tête-à-Tête Festival of new opera 

• “An amazing mash-up of myth and science… presented in a fast paced manner with the scenes overlapping and inter-cutting, and the hard-working cast of six singers and two dancers playing multiple roles. Lambert's music moved between the popular and the more serious… This was a terrific ensemble show, and certainly made you think. There was an element of puzzlement too, but the sheer pell-mell nature of the piece and its deliberate car crash of competing facts and fantasies was rather appealing.” (Apollo’s Mission August 2019 Planet Hugill)​

text Norman Welch
music Edward Lambert
staging & movement Korina Kokkali
assistant director Marilena Sitaropoulou
design Charlie Wood
Cast
Natasha Agarwal (mezzo-soprano)
Helen Bailey (soprano)
Dominic Bowe (baritone)
Daniel Joy (tenor)
Sofia Livotov (soprano)
Samuel Lom (bass)
Becky Stenning & Marilena Sitaropoulou (dancers)
Catriona Scott (clarinet)
Luke Wyeth (percussion)
Susan Holmes (piano)
Michael Papadopoulos (conductor)

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photos by Claire Shovelton