So, about that Stephen Hawking opera... Spiral Galaxy NGC 6503. Photo: Hubblesite.org.

So, about that Stephen Hawking opera...

Jenna Simeonov

In 2010, it was announced that the Metropolitan Opera would commission an operatic adaptation of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. Sounds cool, right? Osvaldo Golijov was set to write music for black holes and Big Bangs, and Argentinian-Canadian author Alberto Manguel would write the libretto. The premiere production would be directed by Robert Lepage.

Originally, Golijov was collaborating with late filmmaker and would-be librettist Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley). This stage of the commission was sadly deferred, following Minghella’s death in 2008.

Yet, there seems to be no development with this commission since 2010. There are plenty of reasons a new opera doesn’t make the trip from concept to reality, but as nerds of the operatic and scientific sorts, we have to admit we’re disappointed.

Readers, are any of you savvy folks in-the-know about this potential Hawking-Golijov-Manguel-Lepage collaboration about the Universe? Our curiosity is officially unsatisfied.

Related Content

Mentions

Comments

Unlike other sites, we're keeping Schmopera ad-free. We want to keep our site clean and our opinions our own. Support us for as little as $1.00 per month.