Opera appears to be on the side of ‘Angels’

Angels of all sorts find their way to opera. The cherub in Messiaen’s “Saint Francois d’Assise” is bliss personified. Prokofiev’s “The Fiery Angel” is the other side of the equation. So it was almost inevitable that the peculiar heavenly host in “Angels in America” would someday sing on the lyric stage.

That someday is Nov. 23, when a Peter Eotvos opera based on Tony Kushner’s celebrated play will have its premiere at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The Hungarian composer has thus far had two great operatic successes in France. His striking “Three Sisters” (Chekhov’s sibling trio is sung by countertenors) was premiered in Lyon in 1998 by conductor Kent Nagano and has been recorded and performed throughout Europe. Next, Eotvos turned Genet’s “The Balcony” into a reputedly very sexy opera for the 2002 summer festival in Aix-en-Provence.

“Angels,” to be conducted by the composer, will be directed by Philippe Calvario. Most of the cast has yet to be announced, but word has it that soprano Julia Migenes will be included.

Not to be outdone, Marvin David Levy has told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that, after seeing Mike Nichols’ HBO adaptation of “Angels,” he is interested in doing his own operatic translation. The Fort Lauderdale-based composer is best known for his opera “Mourning Becomes Electra,” based on the Eugene O’Neill play. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1967 and was then promptly forgotten for more than three decades until it was revised and revived by Lyric Opera of Chicago. It went on to be produced in Seattle this season and will soon be given by New York City Opera.

--Mark Swed