Warrior. Hero. Traitor.
Unrivalled in the art of war, 
undefeated on the field of battle, Coriolanus is Rome’s greatest soldier.
When a legendary victory brings the opportunity of high office, he is persuaded to stand for election. But while populist politicians tell the people what they want to hear, Coriolanus refuses to play the game. As Rome’s most celebrated warrior becomes its most dangerous enemy, the future of the city and its hero hang in the balance.
David Oyelowo (Selma, Lawmen: Bass Reeves) made his highly anticipated return to the London stage in the title role. Lyndsey Turner (Under Milk Wood, The Crucible) directed the thrilling new production of Shakespeare’s timeless political tragedy.
Performed 11 September — 9 November 2024 in the Olivier Theatre.
Coriolanus is available to stream worldwide on National Theatre At Home—The National Theatre’s pioneering streaming platform.
https://www.ntathome.com
Notes MacRae: “Composing the score for Coriolanus was a real joy. While it was no small task to match the scale of Lyndsey Turner’s epic production and Es Devlin’s monumental set, it was a challenge I relished from the start. Our conversations began with a track of mine called “Hysteresis,” from my solo album Vivarium, which Lyndsey had fallen in love with. Using that sound world as a foundation, I began by recording the brilliant cellist Maddie Cutter, whose playing of a handful of early themes and motifs brought a beautiful emotional depth to the music from the outset.
From there, I raided the NT instrument store for every percussion instrument I could find, recording everything from an orchestral bass drum to an enormous 40” Gong in weird and wonderful ways. After layering these together, Saxophonist Reuben Fox added much needed texture, and a final session with the Balanescu Quartet brought the whole thing to life.
Although epic in scale, the score is built from simple components and anchored by a recurring melodic motif that threads its way through the entire work. While the album draws entirely from themes and motifs written for the play, I’ve really enjoyed reworking them into a longer form piece that I hope can be experienced on its own terms, apart from the production.
Big thanks to David Shrubsole for his work on the arrangements, and sound designer Tom Gibbons for making everything sound magical in the Olivier Theatre.
Artists’ photos & cover art: https://we.tl/t-YLHthiZYdD
Stream the album: https://orcd.co/coriolanus
Album Track List:
01. Arena
02. Cusp
03. Funeral
04. Encampment
05. Fires in the City
06. Welcome Coriolanus
07. Martius & Aufidius
08. Build to Rome
09. Eve of War
10. The Senators Conspire
11. Awaited at the Cypress Grove
12. Carry Him
ABOUT ANGUS MACRAE
Angus MacRae is a composer and musician whose music transcends its classical roots, pairing panoramic electronic backdrops with intimate instrumental recordings to create transportive, elegiac works of unflinching emotional honesty. Alongside a number of acclaimed solo releases, he has worked with directors including Rebecca Frecknall, Dominic Cooke and Lyndsey Turner, composing original scores for award-winning films, television series, and theatre productions that have reached audiences around the world.
MacRae is a frequent collaborator with the multi–Olivier Award-winning director Rebecca Frecknall, having composed scores for several of her most acclaimed productions. His score for A Streetcar Named Desire – starring Paul Mescal and featuring a live onstage percussionist – set the backdrop to the show’s critically acclaimed revival, transferring from the Almeida Theatre to the West End and subsequently to New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music. Their collaboration began with Summer and Smoke, featuring a score for nine upright pianos that surrounded the stage and were performed by a cast of actor-musicians. Both shows went on to win the Olivier Award for Best Revival.
His music also features in the 70-minute Prologue to Frecknall’s ongoing revival of Cabaret, a standalone piece for four musicians and five dancers that precedes the hit musical, now in its fourth year in the West End and second year on Broadway.
Other recent work includes Cat On A Hot Tin Roof at the Almeida Theatre, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Kingsley Ben-Adir; Coriolanus at the National Theatre with David Oyelowo; and Mrs Warren’s Profession at the Garrick Theatre, featuring Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter.
His screen work includes the feature drama Bir Nefes Daha (dir. Nisan Dağ), winner of the SIYAD award for Best Music, and the feature documentaries Fighting For A City and Gypsy’s Revenge. His music has accompanied a number of acclaimed shorts, including Paired Up (Charlotte Regan), Buffer Zone, and Fistikia Aiginis (Savvas Stavrou).
His work for ballet and dance includes original music for Marc Brew’s ExisTence, premiered by a 50-piece orchestra at Germany’s Hessisches Staatstheater and released as an album in 2023. He has also collaborated with choreographers including Wayne Parsons, Madison Hicks and Alice Klock.
MacRae’s solo work explores themes of imagination, memory, and escapism. Across a number of albums, EPs and collaborations, his work has reached a global audience and been released on labels including Deutsche Grammophon, !K7, and 1631 Recordings, as well as his own label, Venus Pool.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL THEATRE
The National Theatre makes theatre that entertains and inspires using its creativity, expertise and unique reach. The National Theatre shares unforgettable stories with millions of audience members across the UK and around the world – on its own stages, on tour, in schools, on cinema screens and streaming at home.
World-leading artists make their best work at the National Theatre with the widest possible audience and impact. The National Theatre invests in talent and innovation on stage and off, taking seriously its role as the nation’s theatre. Of the new productions developed each year with a wide range of theatre companies, a third of that research and development resource is dedicated to shows staged at theatres outside London.
Through touring our work to local theatres and schools and nationwide education and community programmes, we are active in every local authority in the UK. A registered charity with deeply embedded social purpose, the National Theatre works with hundreds of schools and communities across the UK to fire imagination and inspire creativity, and to develop skills and pathways for careers in theatre.
For more information, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk
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ABOUT BROADWAY RECORDS
Broadway Records is the leading, Grammy® winning record label dedicated to releasing the most popular and current Broadway cast recordings, as well as preserving legacy musical theatre and theatre vocalists’ repertoire. Under the leadership of Broadway Records’ president and founder Van Dean, recent releases include the New Off-Broadway Cast Recording of ASSASSINS, the New Broadway Cast Recording of Caroline, Or Change, If The Fates Allow: The Hadestown Holiday Album, Grammy® Nominated Burt Bacharach & Stephen Sater’s Some Lovers, Grammy® Nominated Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots, The Lehman Trilogy, Randy Rainbow’s A Little Brains, A Little Talent, Legacy: Two Song Cycles by Ahrens and Flaherty, the Grammy® and Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple, the Tony Award® winning and Grammy® nominated revival of Once On This Island, the Grammy® nominated Matilda The Musical, Fiddler on the Roof (2015 revival) and My Fair Lady (2018 revival), Anastasia, Bandstand, Groundhog Day, The Lightning Thief and NBC’s television events, “The Wiz Live!” and “Peter Pan Live!” as well as solo albums from Patti LuPone, Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessica Vosk, Kyle Taylor Parker, and many more. The label’s critically-acclaimed “Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below” series features top Broadway stars including Aaron Tveit, Annaleigh Ashford, Norbert Leo Butz, Sierra Boggess, Laura Benanti, Robbie Rozelle, Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp, Micky Dolenz, and many others. Broadway Records philanthropic endeavors also include the “Broadway For Orlando: What The World Needs Now is Love”, “We Are The World” by Broadway United and “Broadway Kids Against Bullying: I Have a Voice” music videos and From Broadway With Love benefit concerts for Sandy Hook, Orlando (Emmy Award for Sound) and Parkland. www.BroadwayRecords.com
