Opera Theater of Saint Louis is hosting the world premiere of
The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Dahl's
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. One of my favorite mezzos, Jennifer Rivera, is
playing Veruca Salt. (
Of course the mezzo would play the bratty kid...)
As exciting as this is, this brings up a topic that I've been thinking about/talking with other people about recently. What is with this new trend of making musicals out of movies? Granted,
Charlie is a book, but there are two big movies and a musical based on it already. Now there needs to be an opera of it? I think the question needs to be: is this good operatic material?
So here's my problem: medium. Every medium -- be it opera, broadway musical, movie, play, novel, whatever -- has its inherent strong points. Some stories just work in a certain medium. When you start juggling it around, the story loses its original impact. Shrek the musical?
Spiderman the musical? An opera based on
An Inconvenient Truth? I mean, come on -- who thought this was a good idea? You see the same thing happen when they make your favorite book into a movie. Some movie renditions are wonderful and they even enhance the original story, but some books just lose all their power when they're put into movie form.
I've noticed a trend, especially in broadway musicals, and I think that these media are being compromised because everything new that is being written isn't taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the form in mind. I could blame it all on commercialism, but this trend began before the recession came in full-force. I think the cause is more laziness than anything. There isn't a commitment to the craft. There needs to be a commitment to the craft! Nothing good ever came from half-hearted writing.
Joyce Didonato, a very successful mezzo-soprano with a refreshing, ever-present awe of life, said it perfectly in
her last post when she explained Dr. George Gibson's philosophy. He believes in the three Ds:
Dedication, Disclipline, and
Determination. I think that is such a great motivator and thing to live by. If only the entertainment industry would do the same...