Wuorinen: Brokeback Mountain - Teatro Real (2014) [Blu-ray]

HD recording: Teatro Real - Madrid, 02/2014

A modern opera adaptation by Charles Wuorinen, based on Annie Proulx’s short story, previously adaptated by Ang Lee for the Oscar-winning film 'Brokeback Mountain', marks Wuorinen’s return to the opera stage with one of the major works of his career, equally ambitious in its beauty and momentous tragedy. 'Brokeback' is the story of ranch hand Ennis del Mar and rodeo cowboy Jack Twist, two young men who meet and fall in love on the fictional Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming in 1963.

Wuorinen says “It’s a story of doomed love, in this case a complex homosexual relationship taking place in a very homophobic society.” In a decidedly different approach from the film adaptation, Wuorinen creates a grittier atmosphere. The story and characters have been tightly condensed by Proulx. In reference to the genesis of the story Proulx has said: “‘Brokeback’ was constructed on the small but tight idea of a couple of home-grown country kids, opinions and self-knowledge shaped by the world around them, finding themselves in emotional waters of increasing depth. I wanted to develop the story through a kind of literary sostenente.” With bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch and tenor Tom Randle. Staged by Ivo van Hove and conducted by Titus Engel.