Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast) was long considered a masterpiece before Philip Glass decided to write an opera that would meld with the classic 1946 film on stage. Glass’ ingenious creation translates the film’s spoken dialogue into lyrics, perfectly syncing his French libretto with the lip movements of the characters on screen, the actors’ voices substituted with live vocals. He also wrote a new score.
Performed dozens of times since its 1994 premiere, Glass’ take on the magical, effects-laden La Belle is being presented by the Fort Worth Opera away from the typical concert hall — at the Ridglea Theater, an old movie house built in 1950. A cast that includes soprano Véronique Filloux and bass-baritone André Courville in the title roles will perform in front of the screen amid an 18-piece orchestra dominated by synthesizers and wind instruments from the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. David Bloom conducts.
For these shows, Fort Worth Opera is introducing a pay-what-you-can program sponsored by the Claytor Family Charitable Foundation. Artistic director Angela Turner Wilson calls the piece “a wonderful introduction to opera for families with kids who grew up loving the Disney version and are now ready for something a little more sophisticated.”
Cocteau, a critical figure in the 20th century avant-garde of the surrealists and dadaists, based La Belle on an 18th century fairy tale about a young woman who in trying to save her father eventually falls for an unsightly creature. Glass’ version is the middle work of his Cocteau trilogy.
Details
Nov. 21-22 at 6025 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. Regular tickets, $25-$75, at fwopera.org. Pay what you can, limited to 100 tickets for each performance, at fwopera.org/pay-what-you-can-2025.
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