The Shining

September 2023

Composer: Paul Moravec
Librettist: Mark Campbell
Based on the Novel by: Stephen King
Premiere Performance: May 7, 2016, Ordway Music Theater, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Published by and presented with the permission of Subito Music Corporation.

Original production A Co-Production by Opera Parallèle, Hawai‘i Opera Theatre and Portland Opera.
Director and Concept Designer: Brian Staufenbiel | Scenic Designer: Jacquelyn Scott | Projection Designer: David Murakami | Lighting Designer: Jim French | Costume Designer: Alina Bokovikova | Wigs & Make-up Designer: Y. Sharon Peng

The Atlanta Opera makes its long-awaited return to the Alliance Theatre as Stephen King’s iconic 1977 thriller comes to the stage in this supernatural tale of possession and murder. Jack Torrance, a father with a troubled past, finds new employment as the winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel. But as the family settles in to their new accommodations, demonic spirits from the hotel’s past begin to take hold of Jack as he becomes a vessel for their murderous intents. Composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell masterfully adapt this riveting story as an opera that will keep you on the edge of your seats from start to finish.

Read Synopsis

Media

The Shining | Official Cinematic Trailer
The Shining | The Atlanta Opera & Alliance Theatre
SIDEBAR The Shining: Overview
SIDEBAR The Shining: Meet the Children
SIDEBAR The Shining: From Book to Opera
Program

Cast + Creative

Cast

Jack Torrance
Jack Torrance
Wendy Torrance
Wendy Torrance
Danny Torrance
Danny Torrance
Dick Hallorann
Dick Hallorann
Delbert Grady / Stuart Ullman
Horace Derwent
Mark Torrance
Bill Watson / Lloyd the Bartender
Studio Artist
Mrs. Massey
Grady Girl 1
Grady Girl 2

Creative

Conductor
Stage Director
Scenic & Costume Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Projection Designer
Sound Designer
Wig & Makeup Designer
Assistant Director
Studio Artist
Assistant Conductor

Creators

Paul Moravec

Composer

He has been described in Opera News as “a masterful musical dramatist,” and his music has been hailed as “tuneful, ebullient and wonderfully energetic” (San Francisco Chronicle), “riveting and fascinating” (NPR), and “assured, virtuosic” (Wall Street Journal).

Frequently commissioned by notable ensembles and major music institutions, Paul’s next premiere is A Nation of Others, to a libretto by Mark Campbell, with Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, Nov. 15. His current project is an oratorio titled All Shall Rise, about the history of voting rights in America, also to a libretto by Mark Campbell, to be premiered by the Oratorio Society (OSNY) at Carnegie Hall in 2024. Recent seasons have included the premiere of The Shining at Minnesota Opera, based on the Stephen King novel, and the premiere of Sanctuary Road , an oratorio about the Underground Railroad, with OSNY at Carnegie Hall. Other recent premieres include the song cycle Tell All the Truth for mezzo Raehann Bryce-Davis; Light Shall Lift Us, an online OPERA America anthem for 100+ opera soloists and virtual orchestra; A New Country, with mezzo Jennifer Cano and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival; The Overlook Hotel Suite, with American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Full Bio

Mark Campbell

Librettist

The Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winning operas of librettist/lyricist Mark Campbell are among the most successful in the contemporary canon. A prolific writer, Mark has created 40 opera librettos, lyrics for seven musicals, and the text for nine song cycles and four oratorios.

Mark’s best-known opera is Silent Night, which received a Pulitzer Prize in Music and, along with his opera As One, is one of the most frequently produced operas in recent history. The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an audience favorite, received a 2018 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. Mark’s other successful works include The Shining, Sanctuary Road, Stonewall, Later the Same Evening, The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare, The Manchurian Candidate, Approaching Ali, The Secret River, A Letter to East 11th Street, Dinner at Eight, Volpone, Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Stone Soup, and Bastianello/Lucrezia. His musicals include Songs from an Unmade Bed, The Audience and Splendora. He has also created a new adaptation of Stravinsky/Ramuz’s The Soldier’s Story.

Full Bio

Stephen King

Author

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world’s most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.

Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities. (June 2024)

Full Bio

Plan Your Visit

The Alliance Theatre

The Alliance Theatre is Atlanta’s national theater, expanding hearts and minds onstage and off. Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. The Alliance Theatre is a recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award® in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education and community engagement.