Infernal Angel examines the fateful relationship between Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais (the historical figure who inspired the gruesome Bluebeard tale). Commissioned and produced by The Curtis Institute of Music, this 80-minute, music-driven theatrical work will premiere on May 9-10, 2025 featuring Ty Boque (baritone) as Gilles de Rais and students of Curtis Opera Theatre, and Curtis New Music Ensemble, embodying other roles.

An evening-length work of composed theatre—music, text, staging, movement, and media built as one interlocking system—Infernal Angel unfolds inside projected “film sets”: a monumental, hand-built stop-motion world created by Alex Sopp, whose images carry narrative force. The score is for four soloists (baritone, tenor, mezzo-soprano, soprano), a six-voice chorus (SSATBB), violin, trumpet, trombone, bass clarinet, and percussion, with pre-recorded audio woven throughout. While the work stands fully on its own, it also serves as a companion piece to Savior (2018, after Joan of Arc), forming a diptych.