In the 1931 movie “Frankenstein,” actor Boris Karloff came alive as Victor Frankenstein’s creation backed only by the sound of crashing thunder and the hum of electrical feedback. The mad scientist’s delirious declaration — “Now I know what it feels like to be god” — is ominous enough without musical backing, but wouldn’t music heighten the horror?
That’s what composer and conductor Michael Shapiro set to find out by creating an operatic score to the film, using Latin text from the Requiem Mass to create a soundtrack for the terror on screen. Part of the Atlanta Opera’s Discoveries series, the one-night showing of the movie accompanied by the live score will feature Shapiro conducting the opera orchestra and singers from the organization’s Glyn Studio Artists internship program.
Based on the 1818 Mary Shelley novel, “Frankenstein” follows the titular scientist and Fritz, his humpbacked assistant, in the quest to create life from the body parts of corpses. Shapiro first unveiled the score at the Los Angeles Opera last Halloween season. This year, it’s Atlanta’s turn.
The project began in 2001 as a symphonic score commissioned by The Chappaqua Orchestra in New York to be performed live with the movie, partly as an answer to 1935′s “The Bride of Frankenstein,” which benefits from a richly orchestrated movie soundtrack. Shapiro wrote subsequent versions of the score for chamber orchestra and wind ensemble. He now sees his “Frankenstein” music performed the world over — and not just for Halloween.
Credit: Atlanta Opera
Credit: Atlanta Opera
It’s popular, he said, partly because the music isn’t just an exploration of period sounds. Shapiro wrote modern music, building suspense and intrigue and emotion for the dramatic action on screen using the blend of musical influences that formed him as a composer.
“When the monster shows up, he’s represented by these hollow chords,” Shapiro said, “because he’s lifeless; he’s dead parts coming to life. But as the movie develops, his music develops. His soul in music develops.”
To create that soul, the composer drew on his myriad influences and decades of composition experience. Shapiro names jazz musicians Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young as artists that helped shape his musical worldview alongside Broadway legends like Stephen Sondheim and conductors Arthur Rubenstein and Leonard Bernstein. Growing up in New York City, he said, gave him the opportunity to experience a broad array of musical styles.
“You know what jazz gave me? Rhythmic flexibility and clarity,” Shapiro said.
The score is also a departure from the trend of symphony orchestras performing live musical scores to films, bringing a new depth to the music heard on screen. In September, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performed the live score of “Black Panther” with the move. On Oct. 28, musicians will give “The Nightmare Before Christmas” the same treatment.
“All the major orchestras are doing that,” he said. “But this has not been done in the opera world: I wrote a new score to a classic movie.”
Shapiro has been composing around certain themes for decades, but it wasn’t until last March when he was in a New York City hospital on the verge of dying from complications of COVID-19 that he truly examined the heart of his music.
“When I was in the hospital,” he wrote on his website, “I thought about my loved ones and what I had written to date, and the meaning of it all. And I came upon my raison d’être: Why are we here, what have we done, and where are we going?”
Confronting his own mortality got him thinking about how listeners engage with his music. He found that pointing to a better life was a theme that ran through his work. It’s been in the background his entire career, but he’d never before felt the need to put it into such terms.
“What I’ve done over the years is really intended to bring to the fore the best impulses of humanity,” he said.
Shapiro will be back in the area this winter at Kennesaw State University to film a reading of his latest opera, “The Slave,” by Atlanta Opera singers and KSU students. Based on a novel by Issac Bashevis Singer, the 17th century story traces a romance between the Jewish scholar Jacob and a gentile woman, Wanda, during a time when Jewish law forbid the association.
Credit: Atlanta Opera
Credit: Atlanta Opera
For the “Frankenstein” performance, Shapiro will conduct baritone Andrew Gilstrap and Glyn Studio Artists soprano Amanda Sheriff, contralto Aubrey Odle, tenor Kameron Lopreore and bass-baritone Jason Zacher. Gregory Boyle and Ronaldo Salazar will assist with stage directing and conducting, respectively.
Like many of the studio artists, Sheriff, who lived and worked in Delaware before moving South for the 31-week internship, spends the majority of the Atlanta Opera season “covering” for roles during main stage productions. These understudy opportunities, in addition to general opera training and voice lessons, help young artists mature as singers and develop as career artists.
Sheriff was attracted to the program because of the opera’s national reputation. Much of that came, she said, from how the organization produced operas during the pandemic when most houses closed shop. Sheriff took notice of the inventive circus tent performances and knew this is where she wanted to end up.
“It’s one of the best opera houses and innovative companies in America,” she said.
About “Frankenstein,” she said the Requiem text gives it a “spooky” element.
“You get the drama of the movie, and you get to hear a live orchestra, which is awesome in a condensed setting,” she said. “It’s a Halloween experience.”
Following the 75-minute show, ticket holders can converge in the lobby for a Grave Rave, featuring a live DJ and costume contest.
“This way of presenting opera music is extremely inclusive,” said Sheriff. “I think it’s going to bring a lot of people out who otherwise would not go see an opera.”
PERFORMANCE PREVIEW
“Frankenstein.” Atlanta Opera performs an original score by Michael Shapiro for the 1931 horror film classic. 8 p.m. Oct. 28. $65.50-$109.50. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 404-881-8885, atlantaopera.org.
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