Science fiction opera
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Science-fiction opera is a style of opera whose subject-matter fits in or near the science fiction genre. Although currently only a small number of science-fiction operas have been written, the style’s popularity is growing rapidly. Like science-fiction literature many science-fiction operas include futuristic scenarios such as intergalactic travel or alien invasion. Other science-fiction opera focus on a more dystopian view of the future. Many such operas, (Lorin Maazel’s 1984 for instance), are actually based on a previously written science fiction book. The science-fiction opera genre appeals to many composers because it allows more freedom with the plot then might be expected in a conventional opera. It also appeals to costume and set designers because it often allows more freedom of expressing than would a historical opera.
Operas that parody well known science fiction tropes also exist, such as Space Opera and [1] Opera Galactica.[2]
List of Science-fiction operas
The following is a partial list of science-fiction operas. The list is in alphabetical order.
- Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916–1968): Aniara (based on the long poem by Harry Martinson)
- Gavin Bryars (1943– ): Dr Ox's Experiment (based on the book by Jules Verne)
- Howard Shore (1946– ): The Fly (based on David Cronenberg's 1986 film)
- Philip Glass (1937– ): The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 and The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (based on the books by Doris Lessing)
- Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Il mondo della luna (The World of the Moon), 1777
- Leoš Janáček (1854-1928): The Makropulos Affair (based on the play by Karel Čapek), Premiered 1926
- György Ligeti (1923–2006): Le Grand Macabre
- Lorin Maazel (1930– ) 1984 (based on the book by George Orwell)
- Tod Machover (1953– ) Valis (based on the book by Philip K. Dick)
- Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007) A Bride from Pluto and Help, Help, the Globolinks!
- Meredith Monk (1942– ) The Games: a science fiction opera
- Poul Ruders (1949– ) The Handmaid's Tale (based on the book by Margaret Atwood)
- Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928– ) Licht (based on the The Urantia Book)
- Steven Andrew Taylor's "Paradises Lost", a setting of works by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Who Tommy