Opera Chic

Wendy, I'm an Opera! Stephen King's The Shining for the Minnesota Opera

 

We've always been baffled at Stephen King's notorious, public hatred of Stanley Kubric's 1980 cinematic adaption of his 1977 thriller, The Shining. After all, the spooky masterpiece full of Nicholson dramz, blood rivers and Diane Arbusesque twins has inspired dissertations and theses from its vast cult of fan-boys, rightfully so. 

So we can only imagine King's reaction to The Minnesota Opera's news of its latest opera commission, which bows The Shining for a May 2016 world premiere at Ordway in Saint Paul, Minnesota with composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell on score & quill.

It's the second time that Stephen King's novels have been Beaumarchais'd, as the San Francisco Opera readies the curtain of an auto-commissioned Tobias Picker/J.D. McClatchy world premiere Dolores Claiborne on September 18 with Patricia Racette in the title role.

We're psyched for this new project but we beg Moravec to hang the Bartók mantle heavily on his shoulders -- Bartók's iconic Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste that Kubric wove behind the film's most chilling moments (our favorites, above and below) converged the film's most eerie flights of psychological-thriller fancy.

Minnesota's Grapes of Wrath

"Just mentioning the words 'Grapes of Wrath' and 'opera' -- people think it's nuts".

It's hard to disagree with Michael Korie, who nevertheless wrote the libretto for Ricky Ian Gordon's score. But then, of course, it's also true that the Steinbeck novel that inspired the new opera that debuts on Saturday at the Minnesota Opera,   

"It's as relevant today as the day it was written, and I think people are going to be struck anew by that," said Deanne Meek, the mezzo soprano who sings the part of Ma Joad. "These are issues that are present in our own backyards. You know, we're talking about building fences to keep people out of this country. And here's a call for compassion, and equality, and care, and treating people like human beings."