Science-fiction opera

Science-fiction opera is a style of opera whose subject-matter fits in or near the science fiction genre. Although currently only a small number of science-fiction operas have been written, the style’s popularity is growing rapidly. Like science-fiction literature many science-fiction operas include futuristic scenarios such as intergalactic travel or alien invasion. Other science-fiction opera focus on a more dystopian view of the future. Many such operas, (Lorin Maazel’s "1984" for instance), are actually based on a previously written science fiction book. The science-fiction opera genre appeals to many composers because it allows more freedom with the plot then might be expected in a conventional opera. It also appeals to costume and set designers because it often allows more freedom of expressing than would a historical opera.

Operas that parody well known science fiction tropes also exist, such as "Space Opera" and [http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/star_wars/space_opera/] "Opera Galactica". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/reviews/1477982.stm]

List of Science-fiction operas

The following is a partial list of science-fiction operas. The list is in alphabetical order.

*Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916–1968): "Aniara" (based on the long poem by Harry Martinson)
*Gavin Bryars (1943– ): "Dr Ox's Experiment" (based on the book by Jules Verne)
*Howard Shore (1946– ): "The Fly" (based on David Cronenberg's 1986 film)
*Philip Glass (1937– ): "The Making of the Representative for Planet 8" and "The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five" (based on the books by Doris Lessing)
*Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) "Il mondo della luna (The World of the Moon), 1777"
*Leoš Janáček (1854-1928): "The Makropulos Affair" (based on the play by Karel Čapek), Premiered 1926
*György Ligeti (1923–2006): "Le Grand Macabre"
*Lorin Maazel (1930– ) "1984" (based on the book by George Orwell)
*Tod Machover (1953– ) "Valis" (based on the book by Philip K. Dick)
*Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007) "A Bride from Pluto" and "Help, Help, the Globolinks!"
*Meredith Monk (1942– ) ""
*Poul Ruders (1949– ) "The Handmaid's Tale" (based on the book by Margaret Atwood)
*Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928– ) "Licht" (based on the The Urantia Book)
* Steven Andrew Taylor's "Paradises Lost", a setting of works by Ursula K. Le Guin
*The Who "Tommy"

ee also

Space opera

References