The Palau de les Arts immerses itself in Lorin Maazel's apocalyptic vision of 1984

• The arts center will host the Spanish premiere of Maazel's opera on February 23.

Valencia (10-02-11).- The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía is hosting rehearsals these days for 1984, the work by Lorin Maazel that the Valencian arts center will premiere this coming February 23.

The creative and artistic team behind the production is finalizing preparations for the Spanish premiere of the first and only opera by the French-American director. With 1984, Maestro Maazel tackles his last operatic work in Valencia as the cultural center's music director.

It originated in 1984 as a commission from the former director of the Munich Opera, August Everding. His death in 1999 brought the project to a halt, and it finally premiered on May 3, 2005, at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London.

For the operatic adaptation of George Orwell's novel of the same name, Lorin Maazel enlisted the help of Yale professor and poet JD McClatchy and Broadway musical librettist Thomas Meehan, who has won several Tony Awards for his work on classics of the genre such as Annie, The Producers and Hairspray .

McClatchy and Meehan chose to center the opera's action on the personal drama of Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984. Smith, as the librettists describe him, is a man of extraordinary moral courage, betrayed by the man he believed to be his confidant, and who ultimately becomes a traitor to his own beloved. Winston Smith's voice is the narrative channel through which McClatchy and Meehan portray the oppressive and totalitarian regime of this Orwellian utopia.

For the staging, the French-American musician entrusted the project to filmmaker Robert Lepage, who had previously directed productions of Bartók's Bluebeard 's Castle, Schoenberg 's Erwartung , and Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust . For his portrayal of Orwell's stark world, the Canadian director assembled a team that included set designer Carl Fillion, costume designer Yasmina Giguère, lighting designer Michel Beaulieu, and choreographer Sylvain Émard.

As the director himself explained to The Telegraph in the days leading up to the world premiere of the production: “ 1984 is a story full of strong emotions and full of highly dramatic situations, which generate a tragedy of people whose destinies are governed by all-powerful forces.”

Robert Lepage proposes a revolving stage, with walls, screens, and projections to portray the suffocating society depicted in 1984. All of this is presided over by the watchful eye of the omnipresent 'Big Brother,' who controls Winston Smith's every move. The director also introduces references to contemporary situations to frame the action, including allusions to the situation of prisoners at Guantanamo after the 9/11 attacks.

Americans Michael Anthony McGee and Nancy Gustafson lead the cast of 1984. The baritone makes his Valencia debut in the demanding role of Winston Smith. Gustafson, for her part, portrays Julia for the third time, following her acclaimed performances at London's Covent Garden and Milan's La Scala. Valencian soprano Silvia Vázquez sings the roles of the Gym Instructor and the Drunkard. This will be the second time the soprano has sung Maazel's score, after her Milan debut in 2008. The cast is rounded out by Andrew Drost (Syme), Graeme Danby (Parsons), Lynton Black (Charrington), and Mary Lloyd Davies (Proletarian). The 1984 vocal lineup also features performances by The Demon Barbers (Pub Quartet), the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana, the Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats, the Escola Coral Veus Juntes de Quart de Poblet and the Pequeños Cantores de Valencia.

Lorin Maazel's work will also be programmed on February 26 and March 1, 4 and 6.