Marnie

Marnie is a compelling psychological thriller set in England during the late 1950s. A young woman makes her way through life by embezzling from her employers, before she moves on and changes her identity. When her current boss Mark Rutland catches her red-handed, he blackmails her into a loveless marriage. Marnie is left with no choice but to confront the hidden trauma from her past.

Following Two Boys in 2011, this is composer Nico Muhly’s second world premiere for ENO. With a libretto by Nicholas Wright, Marnie is based on Winston Graham’s novel and inspired by the screenplay. It examines the cost of freedom, the limitations of forgiveness and the impossibility of escaping the past, in music that is direct and powerful.