In a timely announcement, it’s been revealed that a film about Kurt Cobain is being adapted for the opera.
April 5th marked the day the musician died 28 years ago and his legacy continues to live on. Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film, Last Days, loosely based on the life of Cobain, is set to be turned into an opera by London’s Royal Opera House (as per The Guardian).
The opera is the work of composer Oliver Leith, the ROH’s composer-in-residence, with the libretto by Matt Copson. Anna Morrissey and Copson are set to direct the upcoming opera, which is due to premiere in October and run throughout the ROH’s 2022-2023 season.
According to the official description, the opera, also titled Last Days, “plunges into the torment that created a modern myth.” The character of Blake acts as Cobain’s stand-in, as he returns home after a spell in rehab. “But he is haunted by objects, visitors, and memories distracting him from his true purpose — self-destruction,” the description continues.
Despite being just 31-years-old, Leith told The Guardian that he’s a “massive” Nirvana fan, adding that the band’s singer was “an archetypal story — operas deal well in those.”
“We know it is coming,” Leith said, alluding to the opera’s portrayal of Cobain’s death. “It is used as a lens through which we see everyday somnambulistic life heightened. For example, telling a delivery person to ‘come back another day’ is loaded with tragedy. I think opera also raises the stakes of the quotidian.”
Leith also voiced his hope that Last Days would appeal to an a wider audience, stating that the story is about the “inevitable death of a celebrity.” “It could be any star now,” as he insisted.
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It’s not the only major work Cobain has inspired recently. Matt Reeves recently revealed that The Batman was partly influenced by the grunge legend, particularly for the emo version of the caped crusader played by Robert Pattinson.
Check out the trailer for Gus Van Sant’s Last Days:
