INTERVIEW: Love hurts, and this new rock opera knows it
Photo: Georgia Shreve wrote the book, music and lyrics of Love Sick: A Rock Opera. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Kampfire PR with permission.
Sometimes when dealing with love, a person can catch the blues. Whether it’s pain from a recent breakup or the disintegration of a marriage, there are far too many examples of lovesickness in the world. That’s one of the reasons Georgia Shreve has crafted a new rock opera as an ode to that emptiness that causes lovers to move in different directions.
Love Sick: A Rock Opera will play a special three-day engagement Dec. 6-8 at the National Sawdust in Brooklyn, New York. The show features book, music and lyrics by Shreve and is directed by James Matthew Daniel.
The story involves Paul and Kate, who go on a journey to find a cure for lovesickness. This adventure takes them through space and time, and they encounter a motley variety of characters along the way. Seven opera singers bring Shreve’s vision to life, and they are backed by a six-piece rock band.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Shreve about the new show. She is a noted composer, fiction writer, playwright and poet, and her work as appeared in The New Yorker, The New Republic and The New Criterion. Her classical music will be played at Carnegie Hall for the eighth time on April 22, 2019. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired Love Sick: A Rock Opera?
A case of lovesickness I had fallen into myself. That and sympathy for other people who were going through the same symptoms I had been.
Were you nervous venturing into musical theatre and away from classical music concerts?
I’ve always adored musical theater, and I’ve written many art songs before tackling the genre of ‘musical,’ so it came quite naturally!
What do you hope audiences take away from a performance of Love Sick? What are the lessons learned?
I hope they will find it moving and beautiful. That the audience will understand love and see its universal qualities.
How have rehearsals been going?
Spectacularly, we had two weeks to put the show together, and the cast, band and production team have come together and done an incredible job.
What do you hope will come from these four performances? Are you hoping to generate buzz for a longer run in the future?
I hope it will bring attention to my work as a playwright and composer so I can continue to explore and produce this beautiful genre of art.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Love Sick: A Rock Opera, featuring book, music and lyrics by Georgia Shreve, will be presented Dec. 6-8 at the National Sawdust in Brooklyn. Click here for more information and tickets.
