The Shining

Welcome to the Overlook Hotel - an old turn-of-the-century mansion deep in the Rocky Mountains. Don't be fooled by its idyllic facade: the place harbours a bloody history, evil forces lurk in the shadows, and whatever you do - do not enter room 217.

The Shining is written by two Pulitzer Prize winners, Paul Moravec (music) and Mark Campbell (libretto), and is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. Horror is not the most common genre in opera, but this is a psychological drama filled with creeping unease, hallucinations, and nightmarish visions.

Jack Torrance has lost his teaching job and seeks refuge at a closed resort hotel in the Rocky Mountains with his wife Wendy and son Danny. He is to manage the hotel over the winter - hoping that the peace will help him finish a play, overcome his alcoholism and aggression, and devote himself to his family. But the old house harbours dark secrets. Danny, who possesses a sixth sense, is tormented by terrible visions. Jack becomes increasingly obsessed with the hotel's history and increasingly violent. When a snowstorm makes the roads impassable and Jack smashes the only communication radio, the family is completely cut off from the outside world.

Featuring Peter Kajlinger and Cornelia Beskow, with Patrik Ringborg as conductor. The production is directed by British director Keith Warner, who has directed over 150 operas in 20 countries and was artistic director of Opera Omaha in Nebraska.