Alan Turing: The Opera is almost ready
OperaThe life of the Enigma genius has already been a movie – The Imitation Game, with Benedict Cumberbatch.
Now it’s about to be an opera in Chicago – two nights only.
The world premiere of composer Justine F. Chen and librettist David Simpatico’s The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing can be seen at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E Randolph St., on Thursday, March 23, at 7:30pm & Saturday, March 25 at 3:00pm.
Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya says, ‘I’ve been a part of this opera’s development for nearly a decade,” said Yankovskaya. “It’s been so gratifying to see Justine’s unique voice and David’s dynamic storytelling evolve to bring this powerful work to its full potential. I can’t wait for audiences to finally experience this long-awaited premiere.’
another Turing opera world premiere, just a few months earlier:
https://www.staatstheater-nuernberg.de/spielplan-22-23/turing-ua/26-11-2022/1930
Two performances only? So they won’t be Turing it then?
I believe it was performed at DePaul University in Chicago in 2019.
Ten years in production and two performances. I wish the website for the opera had more information. I see no production photos. Will this be a staged or concert performance? Will this be a piano version, or will there be an orchestra, and if so, how large?
The opera was commissioned and developed by American Lyric Theater in NYC. An orchestral workshop of the opera was presented by ALT and COT in Chicago in March 2019 (following prior piano/vocal workshops in NYC, in partnership with MasterVoices). The premiere was delayed due to the pandemic. The production at COT will be fully staged. More information about the opera can be found here: https://www.altnyc.org/operas/the-life-and-deaths-of-alan-turing
Thanks! Looks like a great project. Best of luck with it! Wish I could see it.
A brilliant man but perhaps not a good topic for an opera. It all depends on the music.