Theatre & Opera

 Martin has written several operas with composer Lynne Plowman . In 2003, their first opera, Gwyneth and the Green Knight, created for family audiences and performed by Music Theatre Wales, was  awarded the Stephen Arlen Memorial priz and the British Composers Award for Stage Work. Iit was described as "one of the most brilliantly accomplished new operas I have heard for many a year" (The Times); "one of the most entertainingly theatrical of all recent British operas" (Opera Now); "a perfect new opera" (The Independent).
Other opera libretti for Lynne Plowman include House of the Gods(2005) a gothic comedy set in an Irish pub in the back streets of First World War London, was nominated for the 2008 Composers and Songwriters Award was toured by Music Theatre Wales to critical acclaim and record breaking audiences.  The Face in the Mirror(2011), commissioned by Welsh National Opera, is a ghost story for young audiences, told entirely by a chorus of children and now in development for performances in Geneva.. Captain Blood’s Revenge (2012-13), commissioned by Glyndebourne, is an interactive pirate adventure for children’s audiences.  

House of the Gods and Captain Blood’s Revenge were both shortlisted for British Composer Awards.
 
To see and hear more of Martin's four operas with Lynne Plowman click here. and then click on the title.

Operas with other composers include Chanticleer & The Opera Fox with  Joe Cutler, successfully premiered at The Missenden Festival by Roderick Williams & Chroma in October 2011 and also shortlisted for a British Composers Award, and two site-specific interactive opera workshops for children for Welsh National Opera, Killing Cousins in 2013 and, in 2017, A Close Shave For The Workhouse Kids (inspired By Sweeney Todd). 

In June 2017 a new work with Joe Cutler, called Song for Arthur, for counter-tenor and piano was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival by Andrew Watts and Iain Burnside and is part of a new project called The Counter-Tenor Songbook, to be released on NMC .
 
 Collaborations with composer  Stephen Deazley include Dr Ferret’s Bad Medicine Roadshow for Scottish Opera, premiered in February 2011 at the Citizens Glasgow with four star reviews.  and Death’s Cabaret, a Love Story for Matthew Sharp “A spell-binding triumph.” which continues to tour England and Europe. Tthe French version was premiered this year in Dunkirk.. Tommy Foggo, Superhero, a new storytelling opera for children and families, premiered in 2015 at the Gulbenkian Theatre Kentand The Rattler, an opera based on my reworking of the Rumpelstiltskin story, was premiered by Mahogany Opera on March 19that The South Bank and Royal Festival Hall and toured in 2016. Our piece for Operasonic, “Nightmare Scenario” was premiered in autumn 2017 in Newport. 

“Extraordinary, impressive, effective ... a spell-binding triumph.” Evening Star review of "Death's Cabaret"
To view an interview with Stephen and Martin click here.
To view an excerpt from Death's Cabaret click here
 
Killing Cousins (2013) was an interactive work for schools commissioned by Welsh National Opera with Helen Woods, touring historical sites and venues in Wales and England.

The Ballad of Captain Cook, a music theatre piece for a young cast with composer  Daniel Bowater was premiered at The Georgian Theatre in August 2012.

New work in development with Felix Cross includes Boggits, a new musical for families, The God Racket and a Science Fiction opera - The Return of Planet X

Oratorios with composer David Burridge include The Burning of The Boats, which featured three choirs; was commissioned for the Deal Festival in 2013. The Weightfor The Cory Brass Band was premiered in Summer 2014 and another choral project with Dover and Calais schools and communities Dancing on Armistice Daywas performed in Dover and Dunkirk in January 2016.  A new large scale open air opera is planned for Dover in 2018. 
 
Martin is also working with composer Trevor Wishart on text for his forthcoming work on the theme of Metamorphosis.