Ariel Dorfman turns ‘Death and the Maiden’ into an opera

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Ariel Dorfman apparently can’t keep his hands off of his own 1991 play ‘Death and the Maiden.’ In 1994, he co-wrote the screenplay for a film version directed by Roman Polanski. Now the renowned Chilean playwright has penned the libretto for an opera version that will have its world premiere this weekend at Sweden’s Malmo Opera House.

The composer for ‘Death and the Maiden’ is a relative unknown named Jonas Forssell, who is maintaining a blog about the production process. In the blog, the composer discusses how he incorporated references to the Schubert piece that gives the play (and the opera) its title.

Dorfman said in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan that he received several offers in the past to turn ‘Death and the Maiden’ into an opera but had always declined them. ‘But when Jonas Forssell asked, I listened to his music and liked it immediately,’ he said.

L.A. audiences may remember the 1994 Mark Taper production of Dorfman’s ‘Death and the Maiden,’ which starred Jimmy Smits, Wanda de Jesus and Tomas Milian.

— David Ng