Breaking The Waves - Detroit Opera

Overview

Breaking rules   

Hailed as a “post-millennial Mozart” by Time Out New York, composer Missy Mazzoli makes Detroit Opera history with her modern masterpiece Breaking the Waves, an unforgettable emotional experience based on the film by Lars von Trier. Bess undergoes a spiritual journey when her husband, Jan, suffers a paralyzing accident, exploring the boundaries of love and social conventions. What would you do for love if it meant turning against all that you know?

This production contains adult themes and is not suitable for children.


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Fast Facts

*DETROIT OPERA PREMIERE* 

*NEW PRODUCTION* 

OPERA IN THREE ACTS 

 

MUSIC BY MISSY MAZZOLI
LIBRETTO BY ROYCE VAVREK
INSPIRED BY THE LARS VON TRIER FILM BREAKING THE WAVES  

 

CONDUCTOR: STEPHANIE CHILDRESS 

DIRECTOR: TOM MORRIS 

SET & COSTUME DESIGNER: SOUTRA GILMOUR 

LIGHTING DESIGNER: RICHARD HOWELL 

 

DURATION: 2 hours with intermission(s) 

 

CO-PRODUCTION OF OPERA VENTURES, SCOTTISH OPERA, HOUSTON GRAND OPERA, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL, AND THEATRE NATIONAL DE L’OPERA COMIQUE  

Artists

Stephanie Childress

Conductor

Sharleen Joynt

Bess McNeill

Benjamin Taylor

Jan Nyman

Elizabeth van Os

Mrs. McNeill

Gabrielle Barkidjija

Dodo McNeill

David Portillo

Dr. Richardson

Nathan Stark

Church Councilman

Robert Mellon

Terry

Ben Reisinger
RA

The Sadistic Sailor

Synopsis

ACT I 
Childlike Bess finds love with the off-shore oil rigger, Jan, and they are married in the strict Calvinist church. While they receive the church elders’ blessings, Jan, a Norwegian, is viewed as an outsider. Bess takes her marriage vows seriously, and undergoes a sexual enlightenment with her new husband. It is only a matter of time before Jan must return to the rigs to work, forcing Bess into a deep depression. In conversations with God, Bess seeks answers and solace, and hopes that spiritual intervention will bring Jan home. Shortly thereafter, a near-fatal accident on the rig forces Jan to be rushed to emergency medical attention.
ACT II 
Bess learns that the accident has left Jan almost completely paralyzed. She believes it to be her fault, having asked God to bring him home. Jan knows that Bess would never step outside her matrimonial covenant, but feels that he needs to set her free so that she can live a full life. He encourages her to find men to sleep with and report back to him the events that transpire so that it will feel like they are making love. When Jan tries to kill himself by pill overdose, Bess becomes certain that she must obey her husband and find lovers. Failed attempts to woo a handsome doctor, and half-hearted sexual encounters with strangers coincide with a decline in Jan’s health. When Bess finds a man and has sex with him outside an old shed, Jan’s health stabilizes.

ACT III 
Bess’s reputation catches up to her, and she is excommunicated from the Church. She fails to understand why, as she is simply following her husband’s will, and his recovery seems directly proportional to her extramarital activities. Bess finds herself aboard a large commercial ship where she is savagely raped and cut up by sadistic sailors with knives. A second trip leaves her near death’s door, and it is only due to the kindness of a stranger that her nearly lifeless body is delivered to the hospital. She dies as Jan wakes from his surgery, his health dramatically improved. The elders agree to provide Bess a Calvinist funeral, but insist she be buried a sinner and consign her soul to hell. Jan, who has fully recovered, steals the body before she is interred, committing her remains to the ocean. God’s bells ring out Bess’s melody. 

Courtesy of Wise Music Classical 

Videos

Sponsors

Season Sponsor

William Davidson Foundation logo

 

Supported by:

 

Fast Facts

*DETROIT OPERA PREMIERE* 

*NEW PRODUCTION* 

OPERA IN THREE ACTS 

 

MUSIC BY MISSY MAZZOLI
LIBRETTO BY ROYCE VAVREK
INSPIRED BY THE LARS VON TRIER FILM BREAKING THE WAVES  

 

CONDUCTOR: STEPHANIE CHILDRESS 

DIRECTOR: TOM MORRIS 

SET & COSTUME DESIGNER: SOUTRA GILMOUR 

LIGHTING DESIGNER: RICHARD HOWELL 

 

DURATION: 2 hours with intermission(s) 

 

CO-PRODUCTION OF OPERA VENTURES, SCOTTISH OPERA, HOUSTON GRAND OPERA, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL, AND THEATRE NATIONAL DE L’OPERA COMIQUE  

Sponsors

Season Sponsor

William Davidson Foundation logo

 

Supported by: