Last One Out

Composed by Gareth Williams.  Libretto by Johnny McKnight.   Directed by Amanda Gaughan.  Scottish Opera/Sound Festival Commission.  WORLD PREMIERE.  

Last One Out is a haunting glimpse into one family’s tragic past. What if you had a direct channel to the past? What if the past never really died but is just waiting for a light to be shone on it? A late-night radio host has an encounter with a caller that leaves her disturbed and distressed. A grief-stricken man returns to a lighthouse he visited as a child and begins to hear voices from the past, long since buried.

REVIEWS

*****  [Gareth] Williams’s radiant string score…brought warmth and light to the building’s chilly corners, and the two singers were beautifully understated yet powerful. What took it to another level, though, was the joy of piecing together the work’s two complimentary stories.  THE SCOTSMAN

**** Both the force and the meaning of the piece reveal themselves gradually, and it takes quite a few minutes to work out what is going on. But this is a strength, not a failing, because it leads the audience on a journey in which the mysteries never quite resolve. This is an odd but memorable piece: short, involving and hauntingly beautiful.  SCOTTISH DAILY EXPRESS

**** It’s an elegant, highly charged production, with immaculate, superbly understated performances from singers Jennifer Neil and Matthew Stiff.   THE LIST

**** This is a splendid work, haunting and simple… a moving piece which deserves to be more widely heard.  SCOTSGAY