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In 2002, Nicholas Maw's opera Sophie's Choice, based on the novel by William Styron, was given its premiere at the Royal Opera House. The subject had struck Maw when he first watched the film adaptation several years previously, and he immediately felt it would be 'the most extraordinary basis for an opera'. Commissioned by the Royal Opera House and BBC3, Maw embarked on an adaptation of Styron's book, which took six years to complete. Conducted by Simon Rattle, a long-term enthusiast of Nicholas Maw's music, and with a wonderful cast led by Angelika Kirchschlager, Rodney Gilfry, Dale Duesing and Gordon Gietz, the work won international acclaim and was later restaged in Washington, Berlin and Vienna. The Royal Opera House celebrates the work of this British composer, who died in 2009, with the release on DVD of the BBC transmission, as broadcast live in December 2002.
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Composer: Nicolas Maw
Narrator: Dale Duesing
Stingo: Gordon Gietz
Sophie: Angelika Kirchschlager
Nathan: Rodney Gilfry
Royal Opera Chorus
Chorus Director: Terry Edwards
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Concert Master:Peter Manning
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Director: Trevor Nunn
Designs: Rob Howell
Lighting Design: Mark Henderson
Director of Movement: David Bolger
Plus: Illustrated synopsis, cast gallery, interview with Simon Rattle.
Picture: 16:9
Sound: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM
Format: NTSC
Region code: 0
Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL
Running time: 223 mins
Recorded: 2002
