MEDUSA OPERA

‘I had a dream last night that I had gills instead of lungs.’

MEDUSA is a contemporary re-telling of the Greek myth of Medusa, focussing Medusa’s own story before her encounter with Perseus. This chamber opera explores both her girlhood and the aftermath of her violation in Athena’s temple, reclaiming the narrative of the woman who has historically been portrayed as solely a ‘monster’. She is both joyful and furious, unflinching and terrified, violated and fiercely powerful - she is all these things at once. Focussing on Medusa’s own story before her encounter with Perseus, opera, dance, puppetry and video mapping blend together to compose a semi-staged, deconstructed shipwreck of girlhood and “monsterhood”.

A Forward from the Librettist Jess McNulty:

''Megan Nolan in ‘The Functions of Female Rage’ talks about a rage which is ‘unfocussed’, and I really love that image, of an anger that does not have to have a use to be justified. At the end, Medusa’s anger is a stark contrast to her naivety and girlhood at the beginning of the opera, something which she is also deeply aware of. It is an anger which she knows might overcome her, but also one which is a scream against the injustice of her story and that is born out of a deep desire to protect herself and her sisters.'

Bookings:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/vertebratheatre/1726020

CAST and Creative Team

Cast
Medusa (first half): Hella Termeulen
Medusa (second half): Eva Stone-Barney
Euryale: Alice Hermand
Stheno: Júlia Guix i Estrada
Athena: Teresa Cachada
Poseidon: Twm Tegid Brunton
Dancer: Depi Gorgogianni

Orchestra
Flute, Alto Flute, & Piccolo: Lara Ali
Oboe & Cor Anglais: Laura Ware-Heine
Clarinet & Bass Clarinet: Ben Adams
French Horn: Josh Pizzoferro
Bassoon: Clara Graham
Percussion: Josh Gearing
Harp: Alicija Cetnar
Violin 1: Niya Lecheva
Violin 2: Anson Kwong
Viola: Benedict Bailey
Cello: Sam Booth
Double Bass: Izzy Nisbett
Piano: Alicia Hernandez Huebra

Creative Crew
Composer: Goi Ywei Chern @goiyweichern
Librettist: Jess McNulty @jessnaomi_
Conductor: Brian Choi @brian_ball_cat
Director: Mayra Stergiou @mayrastergiou
Producer: Jess McNulty
Repetiteurs: Alex Dakin & Alicia Hernandez Huebra
Set Design: Bautista Araya
Costume Designer: Talia Servadio
Puppet/Prop Maker: Nadja Zaremba-Byrne
AV Designer: Utkucan Eken
Marketing & Communication: Jess McNulty & Mayra Stergiou
Assistant Costume Designers: Blair Addison, Aimee Fields
Surtitle Operator: Alex Dakin
Lighting Operator: Mayra Stergiou
Associate Producer: Vertebra Theatre

Painting design by Goi Ywei Chern

About The Artists

Goi Ywei Chern
Goi Ywei Chern is a Singaporean composer and guitarist currently based in London. He is pursuing a DMus (Composition) degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, supervised by Professors Richard Baker, Matt Kaner, and Julian Anderson. He has received awards including First Prize in the 11th International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition (2023) and the Leong Yoon Pin Composition Competition (2016). His music has been performed in Singapore, London, Leeds, Bangkok, and Ayrshire. Goi holds a Diploma in Music Performance from NAFA and a First-Class Honours degree from the NAFA–Royal College of Music (RCM) programme. He later completed a Master’s in Composition at the Royal College of Music with Distinction. As a guitarist, Goi studied under Manuel Cabrera II and Hunter Mah, and his composition mentors include Dr. Zechariah Goh, Professor Kenneth Hesketh, and Professor Alison Kay. He also performs in the chamber duo Duo Flore with flautist Jess McNulty.

Jess McNulty
Jess McNulty is a flautist and writer based in London. She has recently completed her undergraduate at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she studied flute with Ian Clarke, Sarah Newbold, Philippa Davies, and Christopher Green. She is now a librettist on the Guildhall’s Opera Making and Writing MA. As a flautist, Jess was a finalist in the prestigious Needlemaker’s Woodwind Prize in March 2024. She has further appeared as a soloist in London Fashion Week, in both the shows of Edeline Lee X Glass Magazine and in Patrick McDowell X Guildhall School. A dedicated chamber player, Jess is a member of The Nuada Quintet. As a wind quintet, they have played in settings including BBC Maida Vale Studios, Milton Court, and in new music recordings. Passionate about outreach, The Nuada Quintet has been involved in several projects, including with the New York-based collective DECODA, and with GYA Taunton leading workshops, masterclasses, and performances. More recently, they have led workshops in Madrid and have made their debut international performance. She also performs as part of Duo Flore with guitarist and composer Goi Ywei Chern. Jess is extremely interested in the crossover between words and music. She is the librettist of both ‘Medusa’ (collaborating with composer Goi Ywei Chern with premier in Summer 2025) and ‘Alexander and the Tree’ (working with composer Sorena Sabah and performed in June 2025 at the Guildhall School as part of the Making It Festival). Her poetry collection ‘I have a body no longer’ was commended in the Indigo First Collection Competition in January 2025.

Vertebra Theatre
Vertebra Theatre, founded in 2012 by the Artistic Director Mayra Stergiou, is an Award Winning Disabled and Queer led Ensemble of artists from diverse backgrounds and artistic disciplines with passion for creating contemporary Physical and Visual Theatre deeply rooted in Experimentation. With a taste of the Absurd, the Surreal and Visual Storytelling we seek to explore the interplay between the dynamics of life, imagination, myths and science creating original and socially informed embodied writing for stage and film. Placing the live Body & Scenography in the core of our practice and research, we strive to create artistic work that stretches the boundaries and constantly shifting, shaping and nagotiating spaces between Physical Theatre, Dance, Puppetry, Opera and the Visual Arts.

Previous Productions:

Electra Untitled
★★★★ “Even within the solemn and tragic sense of the play, being infected by laughter seemed inevitable.” – North West End UK
An Ice Thing to Say
★★★★★ 'Outstanding Show' Fringe Review
Dark Matter
★★★★★'Beautifully done' Fringe Review
★★★★'The joy of this piece is the rarity of its exploration' The Upcoming

Social Media
Vertebra Theatre
Twitter: @VertebraTheatre
Instagram: @vertebratheatre
Website: http://www.vertebrarts.com

Press Enquiries/Audience Questions: Direct to Vertebra Theatre or Jess McNulty at vertebratheatre@outlook.com, jessnmcnulty@hotmail.com 

TW // this performance contains brief mention of multiple distressing topics including but not limited to sexual assault, misogyny, victim blaming and death]