Breaking the Waves

The Music Center. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, USA

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2 PM

Important Info

Type: Opera

City: Los Angeles, USA

Starts at: 14:00

Acts: 3

Intervals: 1

Duration: 2h 30min

Sung in: English

Titles in: English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Overview

A groundbreaking mainstage premiere

The remarkable film comes to the grand opera stage.

After a near-fatal accident leaves Bessʼs new husband, Jan, paralyzed, he implores her to take lovers (quite the ask). Torn between her husbandʼs wishes and the traditional values of her small community, she determinedly follows her faith to a tragic end.

Winner of the 2017 award for “Best New Opera” by the Music Critics Association of North America, this compelling adaptation of Lars Von Trierʼs 1996 cinematic masterpiece has earned wide recognition as one of the most powerful operas of our time.

"It is not easy to find new operas that command attention, tell their story lucidly and create a powerful, permeating mood. Dark and daring, Breaking the Waves does all this with sensitivity and style."

– New York Times

Production from Opera Philadelphia
Co-commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Beth Morrison Projects

This production includes explicit language, nudity, and sexual content, some of a violent nature. Recommended for mature audiences only.

History

Premiere of this production: 22 September 2016

Breaking the Waves is an opera in three acts by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. It is based on the 1996 film of the same name by Danish auteur Lars von Trier. The opera was first performed on September 22, 2016, by Opera Philadelphia.

Synopsis

The opera takes place on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in the early 1970s.

Act One
Childlike Bess finds love with the off-shore oil rigger, Jan, and they are married in the strict Calvinist church. While they receive the church elders' blessings, Jan, a Norwegian, is viewed as an outsider. Bess takes her marriage vows seriously, and undergoes a sexual enlightenment with her new husband. It is only a matter of time before Jan must return to the rigs to work, forcing Bess into a deep depression. In conversations with God, Bess seeks answers and solace, and hopes that spiritual intervention will bring Jan home. Shortly thereafter, a near-fatal accident on the rig forces Jan to be rushed to emergency medical attention.

Intermission

Act Two
Bess learns that the accident has left Jan almost completely paralyzed. She believes it to be her fault, having asked God to bring him home. Jan knows that Bess would never step outside her matrimonial covenant, but feels that he needs to set her free so that she can live a full life. He encourages her to find men to sleep with and report back to him the events that transpire so that it will feel like they are making love. When Jan tries to kill himself by pill overdose, Bess becomes certain that she must obey her husband and find lovers. Failed attempts to woo a handsome doctor, and half-hearted sexual encounters with strangers coincide with a decline in Jan's health. When Bess finds a man and has sex with him outside an old shed, Jan's health stabilizes.

Act Three
Bess's reputation catches up to her, and she is excommunicated from the church. She fails to understand why, as she is simply following her husband's will, and his recovery seems directly proportional to her extramarital activities. Bess finds herself aboard a large commercial ship where she is savagely raped and cut up by sadistic sailors with knives. A second trip leaves her near death's door, and it is only due to the kindness of a stranger that her nearly lifeless body is delivered to the hospital. She dies as Jan wakes from his surgery, his health dramatically improved. The elders agree to provide Bess a Calvinist funeral, but insist she be buried a sinner and consign her soul to hell. Jan, who has fully recovered, steals the body before she is interred, committing her remains to the ocean. God's bells ring out Bess's melody.

Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 1970s, Breaking the Waves tells the story of Bess McNeill, a religious young woman with a deep love for her husband Jan, a handsome oil rig worker. When Jan becomes paralyzed in an off-shore accident, Bess's marital vows are put to the test as he encourages her to seek other lovers and return to his bedside to tell him of her sexual activities. He insists that the stories will feel like they are making love together and keep him alive. Bess's increasing selflessness leads to a finale of divine grace, but at great cost.

Venue Info

The Music Center. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion - Los Angeles
135 N. Grand Avenue, 90012

As one of the nation’s largest performing arts centers, and as a cultural anchor in Los Angeles County, The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of enriching the cultural lives of every resident.

With America’s most diverse population, Los Angeles is the cultural hub of the country and the location for more entertainment options and venues than anywhere else in the U.S. As one of the nation’s largest performing arts centers, and as a cultural anchor in Los Angeles County, The Music Center brings together artists, communities and ideas with the goal of enriching the cultural lives of every Angeleno. With our vision, The Music Center is poised to become a multidisciplinary arts center for the 21st century and a driving artistic voice for diversity and inclusion that reflects and responds to the ever-evolving landscape of Los Angeles. By offering compelling cultural and civic programs that are relevant to a wide range of audiences, The Music Center is both the home and the force behind some of the greatest creative expression today.

The non-profit Music Center organization has three divisions: TMC Arts, TMC Ops and TMC Business Services. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside our four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and neighborhoods all over Los Angeles County and on a variety of digital platforms. TMC Arts also has a comprehensive K-12 arts learning program. TMC Ops manages The Music Center’s four theatres, Jerry Moss Plaza and Grand Park on behalf of the County of Los Angeles, while TMC Business Resources includes services provided by our Advancement, Finance and Marketing and Communications teams. The Music Center has four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil.

Visit The Music Center, and you’ll find many ways you can experience arts and cultural experiences. The Music Center’s programming arm, TMC Arts, creates inclusive arts and cultural experiences across numerous genres—for, with and by the community—both on our stages and in our outdoor spaces including on Jerry Moss Plaza and in Grand Park. Our four resident companies offer world-class presentations on our stages with an emphasis on theatre, choral music, opera and classical music.