Stephen King’s “The Shining” is one of horror’s greatest and most terrifying novels. And, as many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation, which, although not exactly 100% accurate (to put it mildly), absolutely horrifies me pretty much every time I watch it. Now, that story that has struck fear into so many is coming to audiences in a brand new fashion: an opera.
Created by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell over the course of three years, the opera opened last week at the Minnesota Opera. Moravec explains the appeal of undertaking such a project, telling NPR, “Stephen King’s original novel is all about love, death and power. And those are the three foundational components for an opera.”
He continues, this time talking about the specters and spooks that haunt the Overlook Hotel, “I think of the Overlook as sort of this gateway into hell. And when you finally see the ghosts appearing at the end of Act One, it’s as though the gates of hell open up and they come spilling out onto the stage.”
The Shining follows a Jack Torrance and his wife and son, Wendy and Danny, as they move into the Overlook Hotel for the winter to act as caretakers.
There is no word yet on whether or not this opera will travel, although that seems to be the hope.
