Theatre Arts Professor’s Opera, “The Sickness,” Wins Antinori Grand Prize, Audience Choice Award, and Atlanta Opera Commission

In between classes, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts David Davila and composer Gillian Rae Perry huddled together in a vocal studio in LMU's Foley Building to write "The Sickness," an original scene created for the Atlanta Opera's prestigious 96-Hour Opera Project. The work resonated with audiences and judges alike, resulting in a rare sweep of the competition's top honors: the Antinori Foundation Grand Prize for New American Opera and the Atlanta Opera Audience Choice Award, resulting in a combined $37,000 in prize money and a commission from the Atlanta Opera to develop the work into a full chamber opera.

Held on June 13 as a signature feature of the Atlanta Opera's NOW Festival at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College, the 96-Hour Opera Project challenged 5 creative teams to stage an original opera in just four days. Davila served as the librettist, writing the text for the opera, while Perry composed the score.

"I hadn't worked with Gillian prior to being paired together for this Atlanta Opera commission, but our pairing felt kismet," says Davila. "We really challenge each other to do our best work."

This year's finalists were tasked with putting together a scene about the Georgia gold rush. Rather than focusing on a conventional historical narrative, Davila and Perry approached the subject through the lens of folk horror, interrogating colonialist capitalism.

"We wanted to write something we felt really passionate about," says Davila. "The title 'The Sickness' refers to an Algonquin idea that greed and selfishness is a sickness that one has to be cured of. The opera examines the human cost of colonialist expansion through the story of Eliana Banks, a woman haunted by an uncanny grey creature with terrifying antlers."

"I think the audience saw themselves on stage in the character of Eliana who ultimately has to choose between selling land that a Cherokee community lives on or providing a comfortable life for her baby sister," says Davila.

The Antinori Foundation Grand Prize for New American Opera is awarded by a panel of industry professionals and represents the competition's highest distinction. The Audience Choice Award is determined by popular vote. Together, the awards include a $10,000 prize from the Antinori Foundation and a $27,000 commission from the Atlanta Opera to develop "The Sickness" into a full chamber opera slated to premiere in 2028.

"Professor Davila's work reflects the convergence of creative excellence, critical inquiry, and social critique that we strive to cultivate across the College of Communication and Fine Arts. Through artistic practice that is both intellectually rigorous and culturally meaningful, Davila is helping shape the future of American theatre and opera while enriching the educational experience of our students. We are immensely proud to see his artistry recognized on a national stage," says Bryant Keith Alexander, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts.