''Sophie's Choice'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

by the British composer

Nicholas Maw John Nicholas Maw (5 November 1935 – 19 May 2009) was a British composer. Among his works are the operas '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1970) and ''Sophie's Choice'' (2002). Biography Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence ...

, with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by the composer based on the novel of the same name by the American novelist

William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed fi ...

. It was premiered on 7 December 2002 at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, London.

Background

Maw originally conceived the opera after seeing the film of Styron's novel (1982, directed by

Alan J. Pakula Alan Jay Pakula (; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, writer and producer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Moc ...

). Styron recommended that Maw write the libretto himself, which took the composer six years.Ballantine (2010) The premiere production at Covent Garden was directed by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...

and conducted by

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

; Styron was in the audience. There had been concerns about the recalcitrant behaviour of some of the stage machinery as late as the dress rehearsal, but in the event the premiere went perfectly from a technical point of view. However the critical reception of the opera was reserved. The critic of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', quoting the programme notes that "Life is messy, like masturbation", felt that the opera itself was "long" and "messy", and, whilst praising the individual performances, was deeply unimpressed with the production's attempts to evoke the atmosphere of

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, and lukewarm as to Maw's musical idiom. The critic

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

felt that the production's treatment of the horrors of the Holocaust was "at the edge of the tolerable", and opined the libretto to be too wordy, especially in the opera's first half. Others were more enthusiastic. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote "The opera has magnificent music, ... worthy of comparison with

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

and

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

." Reviewing the BBC's live recording of the production, Christopher Ballantyne believed the opera to be "a work not just of serious purpose and great integrity, but one that makes a valiant effort to speak back to the unspeakable." The opera was however felt to be very long (approaching 4 hours) and was cut to about 3 hours for its American premiere at

Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performa ...

in September 2006, in which the leading roles were again taken by the singers of the London production. The production has also been shown at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

and the

Wiener Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

.Gurewitsch (2010). The BBC live broadcast was released on DVD in 2010, in commemoration of the composer's death the previous year.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera follows the novel closely, save that it introduces an older Stingo as the narrator of events. The young writer Stingo comes to know the beautiful Sophie and her lover Nathan in their lodging house in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1947. The unstable relationship between Nathan and Sophie breaks down, with Sophie herself tormented by her horrific past, gradually revealed, in Auschwitz.

Notes

{{reflist, 15em

Sources

*Ashley, Tim (2002)
"Sophie's Choice"
''

'', 9 December 2002, accessed 25 April 2015. * Ballantine, Christopher (2010)
"Sophie's Choice, Maw"
in ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

'', June 2010, p. 94. Website version accessed 25 April, 2015. *Gurewitsch, Matthew (2010)
"Maw: Sophie's Choice"
''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also support ...

'', August 2010, o
''beyondcriticism''
website, accessed 25 April 2015 * Midgette, Anne (2006)
"A Novel Transformed Into Opera, Its Heartbreaking Story Intact"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 23 September 2006, accessed 25 April 2015. * Ross, Alex (2003)
"Opera As History"
''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', 6 January 2003, on
Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise
' website, accessed 25 April 2015. * Smith, Tim (2002a)
"Peabody's Maw braces for London premiere"
in ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', December 7 2002, accessed 25 April 2015. * Smith, Tim (2002b)
"No, not everyone admires `Sophie's Choice' "
in ''The Baltimore Sun'', December 15 2002, accessed 25 April 2015. Operas based on novels 2002 operas Compositions by Nicholas Maw English-language operas Operas set in the United States Operas set in Poland Opera world premieres at the Royal Opera House Operas