World Premiere - Presented in association with Galway International Arts Festival 

An intimate and powerful meditation on memory, grief and truth, this provocative chamber opera composed by Tarik O’Regan with a libretto by Colm Tóibín adapted from his novella The Testament of Mary, unfolds in the final years of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Past and present coexist uneasily as Mary moves between two worlds, reliving her son’s final days while exiled and silenced years later. Around her, pivotal moments from their lives emerge and dissolve, tracing the fragile boundary between lived experience and remembered truth.

Irish GRAMMY Award nominee Elaine Kellyconducts Irish National Opera’s Testament. Rachael Hewer (The Flying Dutchman 2025) directs, with set design by Francis O'Connor, costume design by Joan O'Clery, lighting design by Kevin Treacy, sound design by David Sheppard and choreography by Emma Woods.