Last night I had the opportunity to see the play The Turn of the Screw at the Westport Country Playhouse. It was so appropriate to stage this work with its gothic background and mysterious overtones at this time of the year. After the show, my husband and I discussed it and compared it to the movie and opera based on the same novella. Wouldn't it be special for a theater and opera company to collaborate and perform the same work? Imagine if the Metropolitan Opera and the Vivian Beaumont Theater would both present A View from the Bridge. This would be an extraordinary opportunity for an artist like Tazewell Thompson to showcase his dramatic and musical skills.
What inspires a composer to turn a drama into an opera? Is it the storyline, monetary considerations or a burst of creativity?
As you are pondering these questions, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. Here is a listing of some operas which originally were plays:
Barber, Samuel Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
Bolcom, William A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Britten, Benjamin The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Gounod, Charles Romeo et Juliette by William Shakespeare
Strauss, Richard Elektra by Sophocles
Verdi, Giuseppe Falstaff by William Shakespeare
Verdi, Giuseppe Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Verdi, Giuseppe Otello by William Shakespeare
What is your favorite rendering of a play into an opera?
