I. Prologue 4:13

II. Scene 1 6:29

III. Scene 2 8:21

IV. Scene 3 6:05

V. Scene 4 12:48

VI. Scene 5 & Interlude 12:19

VII. Scene 6 14:20

Recorded at the Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity, Florence, Massachusetts, June 25th–30th, 2022
Produced by John Aylward
Joel Gordon, recording engineer
Peter Atkinson, recording assistant
Edited, mixed and mastered by Joel Gordon and John Aylward

Design, layout & typography: Marc Wolf, marcjwolf.com
Cover Image: Composite of stills from the August 2022 film production: Top image: Stage set; Bottom image: Nina Guo

• Nina Guo, soprano

• Lukas Papenfusscline, tenor

• Tyler Boque, baritone

• Cailin Marcel Manson, baritone

• Laura Williamson, viola

• Issei Herr, cello

• Greg Chudzik, contrabass

• Daniel Lippel, electric guitar

• John Aylward, electronics

• Tianyi Wang, electronic sound design assistant

• Stratis Minakakis, music director & conductor

John Aylward’s chamber opera Oblivion is a haunting exploration of memory, destiny, and self‑knowledge. Loosely inspired by Dante’s Purgatory and enriched by myth and philosophy, the work follows two Wanderers through a surreal landscape where truth and illusion blur. Along the way, they encounter an enigmatic Hunter, a Bound Man who transforms into a King, and a series of trials that force them to confront the nature of deception, salvation, and self‑understanding.

Scored for voices, strings, electric guitar, and electronics, Aylward’s music is beguiling and mysterious, grounded in a harmonic language influenced by Messiaen and Dutilleux. Low‑register timbres, spectral harmonies, and atmospheric electronics create a sound world that feels both intimate and otherworldly. Woozy glissandi, angular vocal lines, and virtuosic contrabass writing heighten the drama, while stripped‑down duos between voice and instrument offer moments of piercing clarity.

The opera builds from foreboding windscapes to dense, climactic confrontations, culminating in an ambiguous finale that leaves listeners questioning whether salvation is genuine or illusory. As the fog lifts and the opening windscape returns, Oblivion lingers as a meditation on how we discern truth in a world clouded by circumstance. Aylward’s opera invites us into a journey of wonder, pathos, and unanswerable questions.