Breaking the Waves: From Screen to Stage

Film versions of opera are becoming more and more common. But it may seem unlikely that a story created for the big screen could ever translate to the operatic stage. Composers and librettists like Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek keepreturning to the cinema of Lars von Trier with good cause. Here are five reasons why his 1996 movie Breaking the Waves makes for the perfect opera.

A great admirer of Richard Wagner, von Trier admits that many of his films are conceived “in more opera terms.” As he explained in a 2000 interview, “I’m at a point in my life where I’m quite fond of melodrama.”

Von Trier places the characters of Breaking the Waves in extreme situations. Captured on handheld camera in up-close-and-personal shots, the film’s psychological intensity can be uncomfortable to watch onscreen. But it’s right at home in the world of opera, where singing is driven by larger-than-life emotions.

Like Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, the story is set in Scotland and depicts a woman’s struggle against patriarchal oppressors. Like Britten’s Peter Grimes (an opera that greatly influenced Mazzoli), it follows an outsider shunned by a close-minded, seaside community. And like Wagner’s Tannhäuser—HGO’s other spring opera—it portrays a protagonist attempting to reconcile spirituality and sexuality.

The film is almost completely devoid of music, leaving a blank sonic canvas for a composer like Mazzoli to fill. In a nod to the few songs featured in the movie—a selection of 1970s rock hits—Mazzoli produced an Elton John-style number for Act II. Look out for HGO’s recording of the opera, to be released in the near future.

In the spirit of all operatic masterpieces, Breaking the Waves is, at its core, a love story. But beyond the typical romance, the movie explores deeper spiritual connections. Bess’s self-sacrifice in the name of love is reminiscent of opera’s most memorable heroines.