Lyric Opera of Kansas City will release the world-premiere recording of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s opera The Shining (2016) on April 12.
Based on the iconic 1977 novel by Stephen King, the opera enjoyed a world-premiere run at Minnesota Opera in 2016, and now for the first time, can be enjoyed as a recording in both physical and digital formats.
The Kansas City Symphony and Lyric Opera of Kansas City Chorus are led by the eminent conductor Gerard Schwarz and join forces with an cast of soloists. The main role of Jack Torrance is interpreted by Edward Parks, who was part of the GRAMMY Award-winning recording of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, released on Pentatone in 2018.
I have an MP3file of the radio broadcast of the original Minnesota Opera production. It is interesting if not particularly great. I would be more interested in seeing a production than just listening to it, as the aural experience alone just doesn't quite do it for me with this one.
Oh lord, I just watched a scene with a portly Jack attempting to chase Wendy around with some sort of mallet instead of an axe while she sings a triumphant aria. This should be buried along with the rest of the Indian remains!
I didn't find this to be a particularly great opera, but it's always nice to have new works properly recorded (still waiting on the two most recent Mazzoli pieces).