Photo by Rob Davidson for Miller Theatre at Columbia University

T H E   H U N T

three virgins sit in a meadow on the order of the King
whiling the time away with songs, riddles, and livestream updates
awaiting the appearance of the majestic unicorn

(It is not going well)

The Hunt (2023)
Opera/Music Theatre, book and music by Kate Soper with additional text by various authors
Cast: soprano/violinist and two soprano/ukulele performers, optional supernumerary/silent role
Duration: ca. 90 minutes
Premiere company/date/venue: Miller Theatre; October 12 and 14, 2023; Miller Theatre, NYC; directed by Ash Tata; music directed by Mila Henry
Premiere cast: Hirona Amamiya, soprano/violin (“RUE”), Christiana Cole, soprano/ukulele (“BRIAR”); Brett Umlauf, soprano/ukulele (“FLEUR”); Ian Edlund (“STABLE BOY”, supernumerary/silent role)
Commission info: Commissioned by Miller Theatre
Album: Kate Soper: The Hunt, New Focus Recordings (fcr401)

For licensing, contact Caroline Kane at Schott Music Corporation

Purchase Score

Excerpt from “Troubadour Song”

  • "...a darkly funny fairy tale...the work adds up to something that few would qualify as absolutely an opera or a musical, or even a play with music – but, in classic Soper fashion, none of them and all of them at once."

    The New York Times (full review)

  • "A sly and satisfying new chamber opera from Kate Soper, whose work has been at contemporary opera's vanguard for the past decade...suggestively tying questions about women, representation and patriarchy together with a welcome light touch."

    Observer (full review)

  • "The Hunt's strongest argument for the possibility of growth, connection, and agency even under adverse and restrictive circumstances lay, of course, in its music, in which three individual voices were able to combine and transform into something infinitely rich and strange."

    Parterre Box (full review)

  • for more reviews and premiere info

    Praise for Kate Soper's "The Hunt" (Columbia University | Miller Theatre)

Program Note

Three virgins sit in a meadow, whiling the time away with songs, riddles, and livestream updates as they await the appearance of the majestic unicorn. Rumor has it that this animal can only be subdued in the presence of pure maidens...but the weeks are dragging on, the court is getting antsy, and the king is threatening dire measures to verify the purity of his employees. The Hunt reclaims a well- worn medieval legend to interrogate the contemporary obsession with regulating and restricting female sexuality, the consequences for gender deviance, the value of beauty and the price of safety – all while captivating the audience with music that beguiles, provokes, and ultimately triumphs.

Stage/Monodrama • Vocal [ Voice plus one • Voice(s) and Ensemble ] • Large Ensemble • Small Ensemble • Multimedia • Misc

Please contact me if you would like to perform something not published here.