Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre presents Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s operatic adaptation of Stephen King’s novel at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall on Friday, October 30, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 1, at 4 p.m. The production runs about two hours with one intermission and is sung in English with English supertitles, according to Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre.
A score that shifts with the story
The opera’s musical language changes as Jack Torrance’s grip on reality weakens: by the middle of the second act, the score moves into atonality, according to The Classical Review. The opera premiered at Minnesota Opera in 2016 and has since been staged by companies around the country. The same outlet reported that Atlanta Opera added performances to its 2023 run after shows sold out.
The Honolulu production
Brian Staufenbiel directs the Honolulu production, with Nicole Paiement conducting; Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre lists both as making their company debuts. The company identifies the production as a co-production with Opera Parallèle and Portland Opera and describes its staging as featuring scenic design and projections. Its materials place this production in 1977.
The Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre cast list names Joshua Jeremiah as Jack Torrance, Rebecca Krynski Cox as Wendy, Flash Inouye as Danny and Robert Ellsworth Feng as Dick Hallorann. The company lists Cox and Inouye among the production’s Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre debuts. In the story, the Torrance family takes winter caretaker jobs at the Overlook Hotel, where Danny’s sixth sense brings him into contact with supernatural forces, according to the company’s production information.
