New Opera Inspired by Urban Art

The University of Maryland has commissioned an opera to be based on the work of American artist Edward Hopper.

Fondly dubbed the "Hoppera," an opera based on five paintings by artist Edward Hopper will receive its first performance in a few weeks. Everyone is familiar with Hopper's evocative Nighthawks, the painting of the urban sophisticates seen through a diner window. Equally evocative are the five paintings that form the basis for "Later That Same Evening," the Hopper opera: Room in New York (1932), Hotel Window (1955), Hotel Room (1931), Two on the Aisle (1927), and Automat (1927). In fact, most of Hopper's paintings are ideal inspirations for drama: peopled with colorful characters located in stark, isolated settings, suggestive of a multitude of story lines, the paintings practically beg to be performed.

For example, "Two on the Aisle," a painting that depicts a theater, provides the story setting for the opera: the characters meet in a theater and even fight over seats. One character, however, stays away: a dancer, based on the painting of a seated woman who is reading a letter, represents an artist who just couldn't make it in the big city. Her letter is intended to be her farewell to her boyfriend and to New York.

A collaboration between composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell, the "Hoppera" is set to premiere on Nov. 15-18.

For more information, catch the NPR clip here.