Passion and melodrama rule at the opera, so, it’s a wonder it took this long for someone to take a serious look at the films of legendary Depression Era film-maker Frank Capra for potential opera source material. Composer Daniel Catan (“Il Postino”) has announced he’s going to turn the 1941 Gary Cooper-Barbara Stanwyck classic, “Meet John Doe,” into a full-length opera. The new work will premiere in 2012 at the University of Texas Butler Opera Center, in association with the Butler School of Music, which commissioned the new work.
UT is bringing Catan to the Hill Country for a yearlong stint as composer-in-residence, beginning in 2011. We’ll watch with interest.
(Photo courtesy of moderntimes.com)
Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director Media & PR