Throughout the 19th century and even much of the 20th, many opera plots were drawn from classic or popular literature of the day. For works that weren’t conceived afresh, novels and stage plays – everything from Shakespeare to the latest theatrical sensation – could be transformed into a libretto.
But as movies continue to take center stage in the public consciousness, they serve increasingly as operatic fodder as well. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is neither the first nor the last to take inspiration from the world of cinema. Here is an incomplete list of a dozen other recent movie-inspired (or at least movie-adjacent) operas.
Breaking the Waves:One of the most highly praised American operas of the past few years is composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek’s work, which premiered in 2016 at Opera Philadelphia. Based on director Lars von Trier’s controversial 1996 film starring Emily Watson, the opera is scheduled to have its Bay Areapremiere in 2019 with West Edge Opera.
Brokeback Mountain:Composer Charles Wuorinen’s opera, originally commissioned for the New York City Opera but ultimately premiered in 2014 at Madrid’s Teatro Real, is not actually based on the popular Ang Lee film. The libretto by Annie Proulx draws from her short story, which also inspired the film, making them artistic cousins.
Dead Man Walking:Jake Heggie’sdebut opera, commissioned and first producedby the San Francisco Opera in 2000, is another one with its roots in the original literary source material – in this case, Sister Helen Prejean’s powerful 1993 memoir. But the film adaptation, which won Susan Sarandon an Oscar, shares some of the opera’s artistic DNA.
The Exterminating Angel:Director Luis Buñuel’s classic surrealist film from 1962 was transformed into an opera in 2016 by composer Thomas Adès and librettist Tom Cairns. The work was a great success at itspremiere in Salzburg, Austria, and againthe following yearat the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
The Fly:Howard Shore, the composer best known for his soundtracks for the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies, wrote an operatic adaptation of David Cronenberg’s 1986 horror film, which premiered in Paris in 2008 and came to the Los Angeles Opera later that year. Critics were not kind.
Lost Highway:David Lynch’s high-concept film from 1997 became a 2003 opera, with a score by acclaimed Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth and a libretto by Nobel Prize-winning writer Elfriede Jelinek. An inventive new production by Los Angeles director Yuval Sharon openedthis fall in Frankfurt, Germany.
Marnie:The second opera by the American wunderkind composer Nico Muhly opened at the English National Opera in London in 2017 and came to the Metropolitan Operalast month．它是基于的阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克的电影same name, as well as the original novel by Winston Graham.
Notorious:Another Hitchcock favorite, the 1946 thriller became an opera thanks to Swedish composer Hans Gefors. Soprano Nina Stemme created the role of Alicia Hauser (played on screen by Ingrid Bergman) at the 2015 premiere in Göteburg, Sweden.
Il Postino:Mexican-born composer and librettist Daniel Catán adapted the 1994 film about Chilean poet Pablo Neruda as a vehicle for tenor Plácido Domingo. The lyrical, Puccini-esque score had itspremiereat the Los Angeles Opera in 2010, less than a year before Catán’s sudden death at 62.
Silent Night:凯文的获得普利策奖的歌剧作曲家Puts and librettist Mark Campbell was inspired by a 2005 film, “Joyeux Noël,” about the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I. The opera premiered at Minnesota Opera in 2011 andcame to Opera San Josélast year.
Two Women:Commissioned by the San Francisco Opera from Italian composer Marco Tutino for a2015 world premiere, this piece about the horrors of World War II draws from both Alberto Moravia’s original 1957 novel (“La Ciociara”) and the 1960 film adaptation that won Sophia Loren an Academy Award.
A Wedding:William Bolcom composed his 2004 opera on commission from the Lyric Opera Chicago. It is based on Robert Altman’s sprawling film comedy from 1978. Altman himself had a hand in writing the libretto, along with Bolcom’s longtime collaborator Arnold Weinstein.