“The Shining is a horror story, but it is also much more than that, because it is dimensional, psychological and, perhaps most importantly, believable.”
Eric Simonson, stage director of the Minnesota Opera’s upcoming premiere of Paul Moravec’s new opera, shares some thoughts about bringing the story to life on stage. The Shining is based after novelist Stephen King’s 1977 best-selling novel and features a libretto by Mark Campbell. The sold-out production premieres on May 7th at The Ordway in St. Paul, MN.
Simonson continues. “The supernatural forces at hand in the Overlook Hotel — Danny’s talent to ‘shine,’ [and] Jack’s ability to see ghosts – are not so farfetched in a world like ours today, in which people often fear things that are not there. Or, are they? Dogs can smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans, revealing a world we will never know. A small percentage of humans are born tetra-chromatic, meaning they have the ability to see an expanded color spectrum, providing a glimpse of a whole other reality. Why should we deny that there may be a world unseen, kept from us by our inadequate five senses? Instinctively, we know this is possible. Something deep in all our collective conscious tells us that there are forces lurking beyond the known physical world; and, that something may be, in fact, a cosmic correcting force that cleanses us of past sins and restores the world to balance.”
Subsequent performances of The Shining follow on May 12th, 14th, and 15th, with limited standing room-only tickets available.