I always thought “Dracula” would make a terrific opera. Lo and behold! Finally! John Corigliano composes one. But Mark Adamo’s libretto conflates the vampire story with… Euripides’ “The Bacchae?” Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (Princeton ’04) assumes the role of Dionysus. Not quite the “Dracula” opera I envisioned, maybe, but bring it!
Corigliano’s previous opera, “The Ghosts of Versailles,” was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera in 1980 to celebrate the organization’s centenary. The premiere had been scheduled for 1983, but it wound up taking seven years to complete. The work was finally staged for the first time in 1991. An extravagant phantasmagoria on Beaumarchais’ “Figaro” cycle, it was described by the composer as a “grand opera buffa.” Despite a light revision of the piece, in which some of the costlier elements were removed, a scheduled Met revival in 2008 was cancelled, because of nerves over the global financial crisis.
Adamo, Corigliano’s husband since 2008, is also the composer of several operas. “Little Women,” from 1998, has been the most frequently performed. The work has been presented in more than 35 productions and received over 65 international engagements. Adamo served as composer-in-residence with New York City Opera from 2001 to 2006.
Both operas, “The Ghosts of Versailles” and “Little Women” have been broadcast on PBS (“Ghosts” from the Met, and “Little Women” from Houston Grand Opera).
Corigliano’s film scores include those for “Altered States,” “Revolution,” and “The Red Violin.”
“The Lord of Cries” will receive its world premiere at Santa Fe Opera on July 17, with a run of five performances through August 17.
Don’t go into it expecting Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee. Too bad nobody ever thought to write a Dracula opera for Lee. He certainly had the pipes. He was singing in a pub in Stockholm one night, when he was overheard by none other than Jussi Björling, who would offer to take him on as a pupil. It was one of the actor’s great regrets that he wasn’t in a position to accept.
Follow the link for more information about Corigliano and Adamo’s “The Lord of Cries” (the music in the video is actually from “The Red Violin”):
https://www.santafeopera.org/whats-on/the-lord-of-cries/
Christopher Lee demonstrates his raw talent as a singer, with selections from “The Flying Dutchman,” and “The Damnation of Faust,” with the added bonus of a recitation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”:
Much later, Lee shares an anecdote and proves that he’s still got it:
Lee recounts his experience with Björling and his family’s role in bringing opera to Australia:
“The Lord of Cries” is not the first Dracula opera. Philadelphia composer Robert Moran wrote “The Dracula Diary” in 1994, and Belarusian-born Swedish composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas composed “Dracula,” ostensibly the first opera to actually adhere to the events of Stoker’s book (according to the Royal Swedish Opera), in 2017.
The best-known vampire opera remains Heinrich Marschner’s “Der Vampyr,” sucking hard since 1828.
