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1984
1984 is an opera by the American conductor and composer Lorin Maazel, with a libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan. The opera is based on George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. It premiered on 3 May 2005 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in a production directed by Robert Lepage.
1984 was the first opera composed by Maazel, following a conducting career that spanned more than 50 years; he was 75 years old when his work had its premiere. The opera was originally commissioned by August Everding, the director of the Bavarian State Opera, and Maazel later admitted surprise at the offer. "I'd never thought of writing an opera, and it took years to convince me," he stated in an interview prior to the premiere.
After Everding died, it appeared the work might not proceed, but Maazel got it picked up by Covent Garden and the Tokyo Opera. This was to be a joint endeavour, but Tokyo ultimately backed out, leaving it in limbo again. Maazel then stepped in and paid about £400,000 to finance the project through a company he formed for the purpose, Big Brother Productions. By picking up nearly half the costs, he allowed the Royal Opera House to spend what it would for a typical revival from the standard repertoire, rather than a more expensive new production. This saved the opera from oblivion, but also led to charges that the Royal Opera House was spending taxpayer money to support a vanity project
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