When words fail in theatre, characters have no choice but to sing. For these six operatic masterpieces, the words had to be sung twice.
From a gripping story of love and loss from Verdi to Puccini鈥檚 story of betrayal and tragedy, here are half a dozen operas that received a musical theatre makeover.
The Beggar鈥榮 Opera into The Threepenny Opera and Beggar鈥檚 Holiday
After Macheath, an infamous thief, marries Polly Peachum, the daughter of a corrupt thief catcher, her father is determined to end his life in an attempt to not only save his daughter, but to steal his new son-in-law鈥檚 wealth. This 1728 opera received not only one, but two musical adaptations. The first came in 1928, two centuries after John Gay鈥檚 original piece premiered. The Threepenny Opera, written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, premiered in Germany and stuck closely to the plot of its source inspiration. It made its first bow on Broadway in 1933 and has since been revived five times. Beggar鈥檚 Holiday, Duke Ellington and John La Touche鈥檚 more modernized version of the tale, also received a turn on the Main Stem in 1946.
Carmen into Carmen Jones
Based on the Prosper M茅rim茅e novella of the same name, Carmen featured a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Hal茅vy and music by Georges Bizet. Set in Spain in the early 1800s, the 1875 opera in four acts follows the title character as she narrowly escapes imprisonment, using her wits and flirtation to distract Don Jos茅, the soldier tasked with arresting her. Despite her charm getting her out of trouble initially, it ultimately leads to her downfall as Jos茅 kills her in a jealous rage. In 1943, Oscar Hammerstein II modernized the original story to fit a World War II setting. The re-telling premiered on Broadway in 1943 and received a film adaptation in 1954. In 2018, the show was revived Off-Broadway, with Anika Noni Rose winning a Lucille Lortel Award in the title role.
Like Once In May into Maytime
Like Once In May, or Wie einst im Mai, featured music by Walter and Willi Kollo and a libretto by Rudolf Bernauer and Rudolph Schanzer. In a story of forbidden romance, Ottilie von Henkeshoven and Fritz J眉terbog are forced to be separate despite their love for each other because of family and class. Despite moving on and marrying other people, the two continue to find their way back to each other throughout their lives and remain close. The show spans over 70 years, and after Fritz and Ottilie have passed away, their respective grandchildren end up falling in love and marrying with no one being able to stop them. A Broadway production of the show鈥檚 musical counterpart premiered in 1917, and was later adapted into two films鈥攐ne in 1923 and another in 1937.
Aida into Aida
Giuseppe Verdi鈥檚 1870 opera of forbidden love sees the Ethiopian princess, Aida, captured and held hostage by Egyptian officers who are unaware of her true identity. During her imprisonment, she and Radam猫s, an Egyptian soldier, fall in love, and are forced to choose between their hearts and their homes. In 1998, Elton John, Tim Rice, and book writers Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang adapted the tragic love story into a new musical, and in 2000, it opened on Broadway led by Heather Headley (who won a Tony Award), Adam Pascal, and Sherie Rene Scott.
The Mikado into The Hot Mikado
This Gilbert and Sullivan two-act follows Nanki-Poo, the son of a Japanese emperor, as he flees the court to escape an arranged marriage, disguising himself as a traveling musician to avoid being caught. He falls in love with a woman named Yum-Yum, who is already set to marry her guardian, Ko-Ko. When Ko-Ko, the town鈥檚 executioner, is urged by the emperor to commit an execution, he strikes a deal with Nanki-Poo to exchange a month of marriage to Yum-Yum for his life. In 1939, Mike Todd and Charles L. Cooke鈥榮 adaptation, titled The Hot Mikado, made its way to Broadway with a cast led by Bill 鈥淏ojangles鈥� Robinson and a jazzed up score.
Madama Butterfly into Miss Saigon
In 1904, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, and Luigi Illica鈥榮 Madama Butterfly premiered in Milan. After Cio-Cio-san, referred to as Butterfly, and U.S. naval officer Pinkerton are married, he disappears, leaving her alone to raise their son. Butterfly eagerly awaits his return, and three years later he comes back with Kate, a woman he married in America. Ashamed of his actions, Pinkerton cannot face Butterfly, and in her despair (and in true operatic fashion), she takes her own life. Premiering in 1989 in the West End, Claude-Michel Sch枚nberg, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby Jr. took the basic story and transplanted it to the time before and after the Vietnam War. The show opened on Broadway in 1991, winning star Lea Salonga a Tony Award and running for a decade. A 2017 revival scored two Tony Award nominations, including one for current Hadestown star Eva Noblezada.
