New opera production adds something new to Luis Buñuel’s ‘The Exterminating Angel’: cannibalism
By RONALD BLUM
Associated Press
Calixto Bieito added an element to “The Exterminating Angel” that Luis Buñuel and Thomas Adès left out: cannibalism. Adès’ 2016 opera is based on Buñuel’s 1962 film and details psychologically blocked dinner guests who can’t depart a mansion and the disintegration of decorum after days of dystopian detachment. Bieito’s new production opened at the Paris Opéra on Feb. 29 and runs through March 23. Buñuel featured sheep who wander the house, then are cooked and eaten. The 62-year-old Spanish director known for provocative revisions has despairing patricians bingeing on each other’s limbs.
