A new opera adapting Canadian director David Cronenberg's 1986 horror remake of "The Fly" with music by Howard Shore, directed by Cronenberg, failed to impress French critics during its recent Paris premiere @ The Chatelet Theater.
Premise follows scientist 'Seth Brundle' (Daniel Okulitch) and his 'teleporting' experiments.
First-time opera composer Shore's score was reported as "sounding like a piece of homework, clumsily orchestrated...", the French newspaper Le Monde said of the Los Angeles Opera production.
Le Figaro reported that director Cronenberg's retread of his landmark movie "The Fly" has confirmed "that cinema and theater, above all opera, are two very different arts."
Chatelet Theater director Jean-Luc Choplin said he wants to open up opera to 'nonhabitues'.
Placido Domingo is orchestra director of "The Fly".
But Cronenberg fans seem to be enthralled by Brundle's lab, dominated by two huge cast-iron telepods.
"Maybe the music's in danger of being monotonous, but the opera's a fascinating case of a director commenting on his earlier work," said French writer Philippe Curval after the show.
L.A.-based Cronenberg fans will be able judge for themselves as "The Fly" opens at the Los Angeles Opera in September...
