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Howard Shore's The Fly Receives World Premiere at Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

Jun. 26, 2008

This month Howard Shore's opera The Fly sees its world premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in a co-production of Los Angeles Opera and the Théâtre du Châtelet. Based on the 1957 short story by George Langelaan and the 1986 film by David Cronenberg, The Fly is an engrossing exploration of the physical and psychological transformation in which a brilliant scientist begins to mutate into a hybrid of man and fly when one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.

"I always believed The Fly to be a classic opera story," Howard Shore explains. "It's a tale of love and death, true love surviving in the face of physical decay and ultimate sacrifice. To bring this work to the opera stage has been a longtime dream. I am very proud to be working with these fantastic collaborators in the realization of this dream."

The first opera by Howard Shore, The Fly is composed to a libretto by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and is conducted by LA Opera's Placido Domingo. Renowned filmmaker and longtime Howard Shore collaborator David Cronenberg makes his operatic debut as stage director. General Manager of the Théâtre du Châtelet Jean-Luc Choplin had this to say:

This creation of a new opera-bringing together Howard Shore, a major 21st-century composer, the film director David Cronenberg as director of a stage work, and Plácido Domingo as conductor-is a clear sign of an effervescent musical landscape in constant motion, inventing and exploring new horizons, refusing to wear convenient descriptive labels.

The Fly goes up on Wednesday, July 2 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, with further performances on July 5, 8, 11, and 13. The production receives its US Premiere on September 7 at Los Angeles Opera.

For more information on the music of Howard Shore, please visit www.howardshore.com or www.schott-music.com.

To learn more on the Théâtre du Châtelet and LA Opera's production of The Fly, visit www.chatelet-theatre.com and www.losangelesopera.com.

Howard Shore
The Fly (2008)
an opera in two acts
libretto (En) by David Henry Hwang after the short story by George Langelaan
for 2S, 6Mz, 3T, 4B, Bass and SATB chorus
3(3.pic)3(3.ca)3(3.bcl)2-434(3.4.btbn)0-timp.perc.hp.cel.-str
122'

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