About
The Dolls of New Albion, A Steampunk Opera is a 90 minute, 4 Act musical with each Act following a different generation of the McAlistair family in the fantastical city of New Albion. The story begins with lonely scientist Annabelle McAlistair’s attempt to bring back her dead love into the body of a mechanical mannequin.
The album feature the vocals talents of Lauren Osborn, Jason Broderick and Kayleigh McKnight (provided by MProductions in London) and is written and produced by Paul Shapera. It can be listening to or purchased here.
Also instrumental is Mark Swetz and Compañía Y without whom this album and show would not exist. Not only is Mark the director of the stage show but the very idea for the Steampunk Opera was due to a series of conversations in which he asked about commissioning an opera from me.
As far as this blog goes: my name is Paul Shapera, a musician who works under both my own name and for some years as Mocha Lab. I have a string of albums which can be perused on Bandcamp or my website www.mochalab.com, or of course on iTunes or amazon or any other major online store. I’ve also a long history with theater, dance and live performance. I’ve started this blog to chronicle the conception, creation and performance of a ‘Steampunk Opera’, as well as share great bands, artists and writers whose work complements the project.
A note: The Steampunk Opera will ultimately be a trilogy. There will a Dieselpunk Opera next which is in the planning stage
I can be reached privately at paulms@gmail.com
A Steampunk Opera (The Dolls Of New Albion) 
mariecandice
June 27, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Your blog is so fab! I’m going to have to read it right through. I found it totally by accident via your post on the Dieselpunk Tarot, what a deck eh?
My husband is a musician and he did a full-length concept album a couple years ago, so I have some insight into just how much work you’ve put into your opera (wow). I’m bookmarking you because I want to come back and listen to Act 1.
Keep up the good work man. I hope I hear more about you and your work in future.
Danny
August 11, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Ok, The Dolls of New Albion is amazing! Beautiful and perfect in every way! I am so happy that I found it, it is my new obsession, so thank you Paul! When I found out you were doing it on stage, I wasn’t surprised. When I listened to the ablum there were just so many vivid images that it created! It is trully wonderful and inspiring! Any chance that New Albion could someday possibly come to the stage in America? I love the story you’ve created, it’s all i think about! I am solowly memerizing all the songs, and i don’t know what else to say except I love you for doing this!
paulms
August 11, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Oh, i love you more for loving it. I would love to bring it to the states. I would love to return to the states. If the show can work itself up the ladder a little bit to a level where it has a bit of a name then it would be much easier to bring it to certain cities in the states. Of course since my intention is utter world domination, i envision a day where neighborhood children will be putting performances of it up on your lawn.
Danny
August 12, 2012 at 12:19 am
Now I’m actually going to want to get some friends together and perform it on my lawn. And I have no doubt that the show will become mega famous. It’s too brilliant not to become mega famous. I’m spreading the word about this show.
Vaughen
July 19, 2017 at 6:10 am
I am also spreading the word around, as I would love to see a production here in the states. 🙂
Malarkey
August 12, 2013 at 3:12 am
Is there a possibility of getting permission for a nonprofit performance in a park or such?
paulms
August 12, 2013 at 9:54 am
Yup.
Travis Felver.
April 11, 2014 at 11:40 pm
How would one go about getting permission/the script?
Travis Felver.
April 12, 2014 at 1:20 am
I may or may not have learned what the word libretto means today. Still curious though how to go about getting official permission, and if at all possible the sheet music.
francis newcomb
February 17, 2015 at 5:04 am
Mr. Shapera, on bandcamp as I try to listen to everything past “Annabelle has a Doll”, a pop up comes up, preventing the muic from playing, telling me:
“It’s time to open thy heart/wallet” and asking me to purchase the album, as a big fan your work, I would just like to know if this was a new policy or something else?
paulms
February 17, 2015 at 10:04 am
Bandcamp has started doing this on their own
Cas Rae Fristoe
March 27, 2015 at 7:09 am
You said the names for everyone else, but not for Jasper. Who voiced him? For some reason, my mind made the jump that it’s you.
paulms
March 27, 2015 at 9:56 am
yeah
Johannes Gabriel
October 1, 2015 at 2:43 pm
Hi, I’m absolutley enthalled by the dolls of new Albion and wish I could purchase a CD in a Hardcover with the lyrics and perhaps a DVD of the last live-performance or something like that, if you know what i mean. 😀 ( not just Download-Content, ’cause that’s what i actually own )
Btw. did you plan to give any shows of “the dolls” in the near future ?
Please excuse my heavy-handed english >.<
Marcia
April 26, 2016 at 2:02 pm
What a fabulous piece you have created!! Any chance you would let my private school near Washington DC mount a production?
paulms
April 26, 2016 at 7:50 pm
Yes. You should email me at paulms@gmail.com
Drew
March 23, 2017 at 6:06 pm
Is there any way I could get ahold of the piano sheets for Dolls? My piano instructor has asked me to learn a piece that I’m passionate about and there isn’t a more suitable option.
paulms
April 1, 2017 at 9:44 pm
This is the best i got for that sort of thing: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/rxjstngswdom5/Lead_Sheets
Vaughen
July 19, 2017 at 6:09 am
Mr. Shapera, I have completely fallen in love with this show, I’ve been looking for something exactly like what you’ve created for quite a while, and I’m quickly becoming obsessed.
I’m a high school student in Arizona, and I was wondering if this play was Published.
My follow up question being, would you mind me performing Annabel Has A Doll for the International Thespian Festival’s competition this year? Of course the rules of thespian convention state pieces must be from published plays, and I really don’t know how to differentiate published and unpublished plays very well.
Either way I’ll have you know I’m using Annabel Has A Doll as an audition piece in the future. 🙂
paulms
July 19, 2017 at 9:04 am
Yes, Dolls is technically published. And you may absolutely use it. Here is a copy of the vocal sheet music: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ahxpn4nr3epc2n3/A1_S4_Annabel_Has_Doll_LEAD.pdf
Taliesin
August 8, 2017 at 8:52 pm
Have you considered releasing the sheet music for the Radio Hour like you did for Dolls?
engans
December 15, 2017 at 5:41 pm
I’d like to know if there are any translated versions of the The Dolls Of New Albion, A Steampunk Opera since I only found English ones in YouTube!
paulms
December 15, 2017 at 9:45 pm
Someone made, i think, a spanish version of the lyrics. But no, no one has ever madea version of any of the songs sung in other languages
Chris
December 28, 2017 at 8:56 pm
I have just finished listening and analyzing the whole New Albion trilogy and boy, is it great. Outstandingly well written and executed, so much that one doesn’t need images to vividly picture the situations being sung about.
I hope Dolls of New Albion one day becomes something huge so others can also enjoy it as much as those of us who have heard it.
Oh and I fucking love the Blood Red Dogs. Badasses must have badass anthems.
Tanda
March 1, 2018 at 4:00 am
Sir, I may be contacting you in the future for rights to perform. I am a future music teacher, and this show would be absolutely perfect for a high school production. There is so much to learn from such beautiful music paired with such a contemplative story. Thank you for writing it!
Vivi
April 8, 2018 at 11:57 pm
Oh my goodness I love your work so much! I can’t even describe my feelings for this music, so I won’t try. I have a question though. In “Postcards from Perdition Trail” it references a woman named Mary who is with the pilgrims. It says that her family is dead but she survived, to that point at least. I was wondering if she was the same Mary in the Cyberpunk Gala. Her situation seems similar and she might have chosen to become an AI rather than be reincarnated. So, yeah, is that canon?
Wormy
August 29, 2019 at 12:12 pm
That is canon, yeah! She, Hank the Sheriff, and the other AIs in Cyberpunk Gala are the voodoopunk pilgrims who chose to upload as analogue consciousness in Atompunk.