FWO
Candles light themselves. Human arms creep from the walls. A beastly figure roams grand, shadowed halls. At the Ridglea Theater on Nov. 21–22, Fort Worth Opera invites audiences into a world where fairy tales take on a strange, hypnotic life of their own. Philip Glass’s “La Belle et la Bête” (Beauty and the Beast) transforms Jean Cocteau’s 1946 cinematic classic into a live, mesmerizing fusion of opera, concert, and film — and thanks to a new Pay What You Can program, anyone can step inside.
“The last Glass work we performed was ‘Hydrogen Jukebox’ in 2011, and ‘La Belle et la Bête’ pushes that spirit even further,” said Angela Turner Wilson, the company’s General & Artistic Director. “We’restepping away from the traditional proscenium arch and into something completely different: a fusion of voice, music, and film. It’s opera, it’s cinema, it’s romantic, it’s funky, it’s unique — and it’s wonderful. And now, thanks to the Claytor Family Charitable Foundation, anyone can experience it for the price of an ordinary movie ticket.”
Glass’s 1994 reinterpretation of Cocteau’s black-and-white classic turns every line of dialogue into sung text, creating a “reverse lip-sync” between on-screen characters and live singers. At the Ridglea, singers from Fort Worth Opera join an 18-piece orchestra from the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, performing in front of the big screen as Cocteau’s images flicker across it. Synthesizers shimmer, winds pulse, and the chamber orchestra brings a tactile, human energy to the otherworldly visuals.
Soprano Véronique Filloux makes her company debut as Belle, her coloratura described as “dazzling” by critics, while bass-baritone André Courville embodies La Bête / Le Prince, praised for a “splendid, lush” voice. Supporting them are David Grogan as Belle’s father and the company’s Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists, showcasing rising talent in featured roles.
“La Belle et la Bête” runs 90 minutes without intermission, in French with English subtitles. Pay What You Can tickets are limited to 100 per performance and can be reserved online or through the Fort Worth Opera Box Office. Regular-price tickets and season packages are available at fwopera.org.
“This one is for lovers of classic film, opera, and Philip Glass,” Turner Wilson adds. “It’s a perfect date night, a great girls’ night, and — thanks to the generosity of the Claytor Family Charitable Foundation — a wonderful introduction to opera for families with kids who grew up loving the Disney version and are now ready for something a little more sophisticated. And here’s a huge spoiler: it has a happy ending!”
