LA Phil Presents Kurt Cobain-Inspired Opera Last Days
Based on the HBO film Last Days, written and directed by Gus Van Sant, this new opera plunges into the torment that created a modern myth.
Blake, a successful musician, has recently escaped rehab to return home. The safety of his house is soon disrupted by a slew of unwelcome guests — an insistent delivery worker, a pair of Mormons on a mission, a chorus of scrounging friends, and the ominous figure of the property's groundskeeper. Matters are made worse by the never-ending phone calls from his Manager and the presence of a Private Investigator and Superfan stalking nearby. Blake responds by hiding and disassociating from his surroundings.
As the chaos around him reaches an apex, a ghostly apparition or a magician appears before Blake offering him a way out — in the form of a bullet. At last, Blake is left alone with nothing to confront but himself. Realizing he is existentially trapped, he chooses to end it all, and with his death, the last days are over.
The new opera Last Days, based on the 2005 Gus Van Sant HBO film, comes to Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California, on February 6.
This concert includes sung English and English supertitles.
Singer, producer, and songwriter Caroline Polachek contributed a song to the production, “Non Voglio Mai Vedere Il Sole Tramontare.”
Tickets are available now at laphil.com.
