A Bold New Opera Takes On America's Drug Crisis

A new opera called The Galloping Cure is making waves before it even opens. It was written by composer Missy Mazzoli and lyricist Royce Vavrek. The show tackles the opioid crisis, which is the widespread problem of people becoming addicted to powerful painkillers. The opera mixes big emotions, dark humor, and even singing sheep to bring this serious topic to life.

Mazzoli and Vavrek are big names in the opera world. Mazzoli has three Grammy nominations, and Vavrek won a Pulitzer Prize for a previous opera. They began work on The Galloping Cure to honor friends who had died from drug addiction. To get started, they asked novelist Karen Russell to read a Kafka story and create a new idea based on it.

Russell invented a story about a showman named Lucky Mack who offers an exciting ride to people in a sad, struggling town. Once the people start riding, they cannot stop — just like addiction. The story shifts from dark and serious to funny and wild, reminding some people of films like Trainspotting. The mix of moods surprised even the people making the opera.

The show was commissioned by a charity called Opera Ventures, led by producer John Berry. Berry believes opera has lost touch with regular audiences by ignoring great storytellers from TV and film. He hopes this opera will help change that. When he found out the show was also funny, he was shocked — but pleased.

A key idea behind the opera is that composers should think of themselves as dramatists, or storytellers, above all else. Mazzoli points out that opera legends like Verdi and Puccini always put the story first. She argues that modern opera sometimes forgets this, focusing only on the music. She says opera should offer spectacle, humor, and tragedy all at once.

The story connects to real events. The opioid crisis was made worse by a drug called OxyContin, sold by a family called the Sacklers. In the opera, the line between the good doctor and the flashy salesman Lucky Mack becomes blurry. This makes audiences think hard about who is truly to blame for the crisis.

Set designer Rebecca Ringst created galloping horses for the stage to show the thrill and danger of the drug. One new character, an elderly woman named Iwona Kowalski, is in terrible pain and will do anything to feel better. Her scenes are said to be among the most powerful in the whole opera. Rehearsals even included a dramatic scene with stage blood.

As opening night gets closer, the team says the opera does not offer easy answers. Instead, it asks audiences to think about big problems in the world around them. Mazzoli believes that is exactly what great opera should do. She says the show is at its best when music, words, design, and performance all work together perfectly.