Brokeback Mountain Opera to Debut at Madrid’s Teatro Real
(© Javier del Real)
Gay cowboys rejoice: Your opportunity to see a sexy representation of yourself (but with exquisite diction and resonance) has finally arrived in the form of Brokeback Mountain the opera. With music by Charles Wourinen and a libretto by Annie Proulx, the opera allegedly hews much closer to the original short story, “Brokeback Mountain” (which Proulx authored in 1997) than the 2005 Ang Lee film of the same name. Brokeback Mountain opens January 28 and will run through February 11 at Madrid’s Teatro Real.
The opera was originally commissioned by Gerard Mortier for the now-defunct New York City Opera. This was before Mortier dramatically bailed from his post as general director at City Opera (a move that many believe helped accelerate the downfall of the once-venerable institution). Brokeback Mountain was one of the projects Mortier spirited away to his new home, Teatro Real. (Mortier was subsequently fired from his position as general director there in September 2013.) As of yet, there are no plans to bring this English-language opera by an American composing team to the states. Peter Gelb, can you hear me?
Spanish opera critic Daniel Basteiro has an exclusive interview with Proulx and Wourinen if you habla español. Everyone else can enjoy this delightfully arty promo video (in English) below:
