The fall schedule of the Los Angeles Opera, which begins
September 6, is one of those things that makes me temporarily insane
enough to reconsider moving to LA. I’m not any sort of opera
aficionado, but I am fascinated by Robert Wilson (the company is
reviving his version of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly) and how can the
first two chapters of a $32 million dollar mounting of the Ring cycle
fail to awaken at least some basic interest?
But it’s the trio of film directors that really makes the news. On the
6th, the scedule begins with Puccini’s "Il Trittico", a trio of one-act
operas. The comedy "Gianni Schicchi" will be directed by Woody Allen.
The trio’s other two pieces, "Il Tabarro" and "Suor Angelica," will be
directed by William Friedkin.
And on September 7th David Cronenberg will direct the US premiere of
Howard Shore’s "The Fly", which has a world premiere in Paris July 1. The creative list for the sci-fi based opera includes Denise Cronenberg as costume designer and Dante Ferretti as set designer. The libretto is by David Henry Hwang, who wrote both the play M. Butterfly and the screenplay for Cronenberg’s film adaptation, which remains MIA on DVD.
Placido Domingo, the LA Opera’s general director, will conduct "The
Fly". A comment by Domingo seemingly ackowledges that the season is a
ploy for wider audience ("…the kind of musical and theatrical exploration which appeals not only
to established opera lovers but might be the right kind of lure for
potentially new audiences.") but to have such an oddball new way to experience Cronenberg, we can all probably live with that.