Hai-Ting  Chinn

Francesca Anderegg

Erika Switzer

Jules Biber

Kelvin Chan

Vital Opera

A Dramatic Work for mezzo soprano and piano trio
Grounded in the lived experience of scientific practice, Meltdown is a one-act dramatic work for mezzo-soprano and piano trio that explores the intertwined dynamics of grief over the climate crisis, sexual harassment and violence, and the exploitation of people and land.

A Glaciologist (performer and co-librettist Hai-Ting Chinn) gives a lecture on her study of ice sheet mass loss, and how climate change impacts it. Addressing an elephant in the room, she acknowledges that her mentor, renowned scientist Dr. Olivia Wells, has recently gone missing during an expedition on Greenland’s ice sheet and is presumed dead. At the same time, the Glaciologist refers to news reports that a male scientist, Dr. Martin Pearce, has been accused of harassment by women colleagues.

Through scenes that morph from lecture hall to Arctic base camp, the Glaciologist speaks about drilling ice cores, which indicate how climate change is accelerating glacier loss. As the piece continues, there are lighter moments (in subzero temps, keep Nutella warm in your pants) and irreverent ukulele songs. But the Glaciologist feels frustration with the lack of public urgency in addressing climate change, the pain and waste inflicted by bad actors such as Pearce, and the natural need to grieve Olivia. Through turbulent waves of emotion, the Glaciologist struggles to hold herself together.