Toronto film director David "Shivers" Cronenberg, tenor Placido Domingo and Oscar-winning, Canadian composer Howard "Lord of the Rings" Shore will create an opera based on Cronenberg's 1986 feature version of "The Fly".The co-production between Theatre du Chatelet in Paris and the Los Angeles Opera will open in Paris July 1, 2008, then move to Los Angeles in September.
Cronenberg's take on the story, starring actor Jeff Goldblum as a scientist who slowly transforms into a fly, was based on a 1957 short story by George Langelaan.The two-act opera was conceived by Shore, who called the plot an "intimate story" of love and death. The work will feature a lead baritone, tenor and mezzo-soprano, with a chorus and 75-piece orchestra.
"It has long been my dream to unite the worlds of film with those of opera," said Domingo.
Playwright David Henry "M. Butterfly" Hwang, will script the opera's libretto.
