Skye's the Limit: The Scottish Inspirations for Breaking the Waves

Tom Morris’s production of Breaking the Waves for HGO is dominated by a giant rotating set piece. Conceived by Soutra Gilmour, this behemoth comprises 13 imposing columns that transform into different locales through the use of projections. Read about the Scottish inspiration for the scenic design and learn about the cultural and geographical context of the opera’s setting on the Isle of Skye.

The Isle of Skye is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides, an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. Over a third of Skye’s inhabitants are Gaelic speakers—listen for the Gaelic proverb that Bess’s mother recites in Act I. Lars von Trier’s filmshowcases the island’s sublime landscapes, which composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek took in during a research trip to Scotland in 2014. The dramatic sea cliff at Neist Point on Skye inspired the opening chord of Mazzoli’s score.

Soutra Gilmour’s set resembles the kind of volcanic basalt columns found on the Isle of Skye. More famously, such rock formations line the walls of Fingal’s Cave on Staffa, another island of the Inner Hebrides. Gilmour was also inspired by ancient Scottish monoliths called “standing stones.” As she explains: “On our stage, they symbolize the scale of the boat, the stonechurch, as well as the bleak, unrelenting powers of religion and the men.”

Bess and her neighbors belong to the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Members perform a special style of devotional music known as Gaelic psalm singing, in which each congregant chants at their own individual pace. You can hear Mazzoli’s evocation of this technique throughout the opera in her writing for the chorus.

The Scottish fossil-fuel industry took off in the mid-1970s, when Breaking the Waves takes place. However, there are no offshore rigs in the Western Isles, as depicted in the opera. Rather, oilfields are located in the North Sea between Britain and Norway. Personnel are transported by helicopter and reside in small cabins for two to three weeks, working 12-hour shifts.