Unfortunately, the classic nightmarish book The Shining has now been made into a musical by the Minnesota Opera as part of its New Works Initiative. Two acts and an epilogue later we are left shaking our heads and asking ourselves why. What have we done to deserve this? Then again, it is just one more reason to avoid Minnesota, even during the summer.
Even more unfortunate is that the musical had sold out performances. If you have seen the movie, and it can be safely presumed that the vast majority of opera goers have not, having Jack and Wendy singing harmoniously to 0ne another as Jack contemplates which part of Wendy’s body he would like to dismember seems out of place. But there is always the new initiative that has Jack musically attempting to reconcile with Wendy as he looks for the axe.
Redrum should be the highlight song of the musical, but maybe they reverted to Danny Boy. There is nothing like setting tragedy to music, especially the kind of psychological thriller The Shining was written to be. One has to wonder if Steven King is aware of this musical translation. Danny’s first line in the opera that is sung is, “You are not my father.”
If you are wondering why this weird production of a classic book and movie attracted sold out crowds, you need not look any further than one reviewer’s comment: “Paul Moravec’s music sets the tone from the first moments. It’s a rich, multi-layered soundscape that breathes life into the Overlook Hotel, which is both the setting and the villain of the piece.” (Eric Ringham, MPRNews) So now it’s the hotel that is the villain, not a character. Or the hotel is a character. Or something like that.
There is nothing like modern art (forms) to confuse a normal person. Apparently you have to have an intellectual perspective to truly appreciate what the Minnesota Opera has given to the society and culture. The skilled crafting of the libretto and the music that has the mallet smashing sounds accompanied by a chorus singing in the background. Wendy’s screams are sung by musically gifted voices, and there is only the hotel to blame.
Director-editor Antonio Maria Da Silva used his skills to do justice to the total absurdity of the production, cleverly managing to mash up a movie version of what the one scene in the movie might look like. (https://filmschoolrejects.com/shining-musical-disorienting-nightmare-film-slips-absurd/) For those who are not aware of Da Silva’s talent, it is worth a look.
What the Minnesota Opera and their audience doesn’t get is that the book and the movie are about Jack and Wendy, not the hotel. It has been called a different interpretation of the original book version of The Shining. By the way, why is the title of the book “The Shining?” If you do not know the answer to that, and apparently the producers don’t, then whatever the result is has to end up an unqualified disaster. Congratulations. You have achieved your goal.
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