Alexander McCall Smith and Kate Atkinson are two of the authors in a new anthology of stories called MIDSUMMER NIGHTS. All the stories are inspired by opera. Edited by Jeanette Winterson, the stories and the operas which inspired them are Alexander McCall Smith on Cosi Fan Tutte; Ali Smith on Fidelio; Andrew Motion on Peter Grimes; Andrew O'Hagan on Eugene Onegin; Ann Enright on Rusalka; Colm Toibin on Pearl Fishers; Jackie Kay on The Makropulos Case; Joanna Trollope on L'Elisir d'Amore; John Mortimer on Cosi Fan Tutte; Julie Myerson on The Crowning of Poppaea; Kate Atkinson on La Traviata; Kate Mosse on Pelleas et Melisande; Lynne Truss on The Turn of the Screw; Marina Warner on Dido and Aeneas; Ruth Rendell on Theodora; Sebastian Barry on Natoma; and Toby Litt on Don Giovanni.
What an interesting idea. There was an anthology a couple of years ago called MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER which contained stories inspired by the Bruce Springsteen track.Personally, I'd love to see an anthology of stories based on Ramones songs...any publishers out there reading?
The Glasgow Herald reports that Tom Morton - thriller author and BBC Radio Scotland presenter - had an interesting book signing experience.
Ray Banks is interviewed in the excellent Pulp Pusher about his new book BEAST OF BURDEN which is the last in the Cal Innes series. Great interview but I'm most definitely not happy to learn that Ray is now taking it easy. Sorry Mr Banks, but you need to get writing. In addition, Tony Black interviews Ian Hamilton, one of the ringleaders behind the theft/reclamation (depending on your outlook!) of Scotland's Stone of Destiny.
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It will be interesting to see what McCall Smith does with Cosi Fan Tutte. Michael Dibdin put a distinctive stamp on the opera in his novel Cosi Fan Tutti.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com
I've not read the Dibdin. I have no idea why the idea of reading the short story collection is so attractive, since what I know about opera can be written on the little fingernail of a mezzo-soprano, but it intrigues me. I'd still prefer a Ramones anthology though :o)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a Ramones-inspired anthology! The stories would have to be both very short and relentless. Hey ho - let's go! :D
ReplyDeleteI think we should just do it :o)
ReplyDeleteAs you say, what an interesting idea!
ReplyDeleteYou could call it 'Pinhead'...Great idea... Hey, ho, let's go!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think it's a goer - who's in? :o)
ReplyDeleteWell, if I need to get writing ... Gabba-gabba-hey.
ReplyDeleteDonna, I'd nominate Cosi Fan Tutti as the most ingenious crime novel I have ever read. Opera, with all its melodrama, offers a rich field for that rare crime writer who has enough chops to pull off a story based on it without seeming arch, campy or jokey. Dibdin could do this.
ReplyDeleteOf course, "I Wanna Be Sedated" offers richly suggestive possibilities all its own.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com
Ray - yes indeed you do - I'm glad you took notice of my hint :o)
ReplyDeletePeter - I will track down the Dibdin. I like the music in a lot of operas, it's the singing that sets my teeth on edge :o)
There are such a lot of Ramones tracks with possibilities - so many choices...
53rd and 3rd with its tale of a male prostitute:
"Then I took out my razor blade
Then I did what God forbade"
Blitzkrieg Bop's "Shoot'em in the back now"
And the rich implications of Teenage Lobotomy's:
"Now I guess I'll have to tell 'em
That I got no cerebellum" (which just have to be some of the finest lyrics ever!
And then of course there's I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement, You're Gonna Kill That Girl, You Should Have Never Opened That Door...