Fort Worth Opera's 2010 Festival will boast one of the best movie/book spin-offs we've yet heard: Reinaldo Arenas's "Before Night Falls".
The opera, written and composed by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín, is based on the the autobiography by the late great Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas.
This isn't the first time that Arenas's book has inspired, as it was the basis of the sumptuous full-of-win film by Opera Chic main man Julian Schnabel, staring omg Javier Bardem (luckily Benicio del Toro dropped out and we got that secksay slab of fillet, Bardem).
For help with the libretto, Martín turned to Dolores M. Koch, close friend of Arenas who also translates his books from Spanish to English.
Darren K. Woods, GM of the FWO, is a frikking genius. We're so looking forward to this, we're already dusting off our Luchese boots for Spring Break, 2010.
Opera Chic's only regret is that our own composer, maestro Carter Burwell, who did such a wonderful, heartbreaking job writing the film's score, has not been hired to take a crack at writing the opera.
Maestro Burwell's website generously allows to download some tracks from his scores.
In the meantime, Javier Bardem best learn how to sing by Spring 2010, because we're basically not willing to settle for anyone less than the sizzling Spanish actor on that Texan stage.