Janos Gereben writes:

>In the 1990s, Glass, wrote new soundtrack for three of Cocteau's films:
>"Orpheus," "Les Enfants Terribles," and "La Belle." Now, "soundtrack"
>is technically correct, but there is more to it than that: the music is
>always performed live, with singers, as the films are screened, so that
>these works are really known as operas.

In fact, only "La Belle et la bete" should be performed as a live
"soundtrack".  The other two are stage adaptations and do not precisely
follow their films' sequences: "Les enfants terribles", for example, has
a significant dance element, whilst "Orfee" has changes of locale and
cuts.

Otherwise I'm delighted that Janos relished the potency of Glass' fine
stage work.  Such pieces as the early Trilogy (especially "Akhnaten",)
"La Belle..." and "The Voyage" really have defined a genuine operatic
style uniquely of our time, and it's about time Glass' achievement had
some of the credit it deserves from mainstream dinosaurs consent to
simper over more conventional successes d'estime.  Here in London, the
stage production this summer of "Orfee" similarly caused quite a few
dyed-in-the-wool ground-Glassians to eat their words!

Christopher Webber, Blackheath, London, UK
http://www.zarzuela.net
"ZARZUELA!" The Spanish Music Site