Doubleplusgood Aria

Big Brother takes the stage: George Orwell's nightmarish future vision, 1984, has been made into an opera. According to this story, it opens tomorrow tonight (May 3) at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. An excerpt:

"... The show's conductor and composer, Lorin Maazel, who is the music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, said the aim of the performance was 'to tell the story as simply and directly as possible. ...'

"Thomas Meehan, who has written for a number of Broadway productions including The Producers, and the poet J D McClatchy, professor of poetry at Yale University, have co-written the libretto.

"The novel, published in 1949, has had lasting appeal. The story is set in 1984 and presents an imaginary future where a totalitarian state, called Oceania, controls every aspect of life, including thoughts.

"... Maazel said he gained insight into the mind of the dictatorial character by recounting conversations with former SS officers 15 or 20 years after the Second World War.

"... 'It was quite terrifying. They would say things like, "I didn't really want to do it, I was ordered to do it and when I pulled the lever or threw in the gas, at least the first time, my heart gave a little wrench, but then you get used to it." So I learnt something about the mentality of the sadist mindsets which we tend to assign only to others, but which may be latent problems that we are all hiding.'"

1984 will be at the Royal Opera House through May 19.

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