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By Ben Mattison
03 May 2005
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| A preliminary costume design for Winston by Yasmina Gigučre |
Conductor Lorin Maazel's opera 1984 has its world premiere tonight at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It runs through May 19.
The opera, Maazel's first, is based on the 1948 novel by George Orwell about a man who defies and is finally destroyed by the totalitarian state in which he lives. The libretto is by poet J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, a writer for films, television, and the stage.
The cast includes baritone Simon Keenlyside as Winston, soprano Nancy Gustafson as Julia, and tenor Richard Margison as O'Brien. Maazel conducts.
The staging is by the Canadian actor, playwright, and director Robert Lepage. Carl Fillion is the set designer; costumes are by Yasmina Gigučre, lighting by Michel Beaulieu, and choreography by Sylvain Émard.
A onetime child prodigy, Maazel has been conducting major orchestras for more than 60 years; he is also a violinist. He is currently music director of the New York Philharmonic, and has previously led the Pittsburgh Symphony, Vienna State Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. His previous compositions include Farewells, which was commissioned and performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, and Irish Vapours and Capers, premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony.
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