A ‘Fly’ on the wall of L.A. Opera

That operatic opening flourish in Howard Shore’s score to “The Fly” evokes Puccini’s “Turandot.” But operatic allusions pretty much end there in David Cronenberg’s 1986 horror film, in which Jeff Goldblum turns into an oozing insect as Geena Davis watches in disgust.

Now, though, it turns out that this monster might well stalk the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Los Angeles Opera general director Placido Domingo has invited Shore and playwright David Henry Hwang to make an opera based on the film. And with the popular success of Shore’s “Lord of the Rings” Symphony -- an evening-long synthesis of his soundtracks to the Tolkien trilogy that has been performed by dozens of orchestras in the U.S. and abroad -- opera seems like a natural next step for him.

So far, the project, which would premiere in 2007, is in the final negotiation phase, but composer and librettist have both signaled their willingness to come on board. Would Cronenberg direct (or perhaps have a walk-on role as a gynecologist, as in his film)? Would the human fly sing and vomit at the same time? Would the Davis character give birth to a slimy larva, as she does in her movie dream? Stay tuned. It’s been a long while since we’ve had an intentional good scare at the opera.