At her wedding reception, the beautiful but depressed Justine spots a red star in the sky. It is the planet Melancholia, which is on a collision course with Earth. The bridegroom Michael tries to calm her down with his love, her mother Gaby poisons her with her darkness, and her sister Claire attempts to rescue her with her solicitude. But no-one can stop the mysterious forces ignited within Justine. And Melancholia gets closer and closer…
The iconic director Lars von Trier’s apocalyptic Melancholia took the world by storm in 2011. The composer Mikael Karlsson – known to the audiences for his music to Alexander Ekman ballets such as Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hammer – has now made a full-length opera based on the drama art film. The librettist is Royce Vavrek, who also wrote the libretto for the operatic version of von Trier’s Breaking the Waves. The soloists include the soprano Lauren Snouffer – a virtuoso performer of both baroque opera and contemporary music – as Justine, Metropolitan Opera’s young rising star Rihab Chaieb as Claire, and Anne Sofie von Otter as the ice-cold mother Gaby. (Picture ©Sören Vilks )
Music by Mikael Karlsson, libretto by Royce Vavrek | 140 min | Director Andreas Morell | Producers EuroArts Music in coproduction with Royal Opera House, in collaboration with Les Films Figures Libres and Mezzo | 2023