Thomas Hardy goes to the opera

Writer David Harsent wrote an article in The Guardian discussing the process of adapting another’s work for the stage:

“The process of adaptation necessitates two early decisions: how true should I be to the original, and what shall I dump? There are times when murdering someone else’s darlings is a more harrowing process than murdering one’s own. Adapting for the opera stage probably involves more blood-shed than usual, but the nature of that transformation does require – and therefore offers – greater freedoms. The darlings appear to be asking for it.”

In this instance, Harsnet is discussing the process of adapting one of Thomas Hardy’s stories, “An Imaginative Woman” into an opera with composer Huw Watkins.

You can read the entire article on guardian.co.uk.