The Handmaid's Tale is a 1998 opera by Danish composer Poul Ruders, setting a libretto by Paul Bentley based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood.
The action takes place in a 22nd-century United States taken over by a right-wing theocracy named Gilead; it starts with a newsreel-like collage: the narrative first frame.
Ecological and political disruption lead to the dismantling of the United States by a theocracy which takes over to create the new country of Gilead.
The Republic was formed after Christian fundamentalists assassinated the President and most of the Congress in order to establish a dictatorship based on Biblical principles within the United States.
Here the Red Centre showcases the multiple practices of indoctrination, which leads to Offred being posted to the home of a higher up Commander.
The household gathers for the ritual impregnation, and Nick tells Offred that Fred wants to see her privately afterwards, which is also illegal.
Instead of treating Offred as a sexual surrogate, the Commander finds himself attracted to her, which is an unpardonable sin leading to much of the disaster throughout the story.
Offred visits Fred that night in private, and once she is back in her bedroom, she collapses in fit of hysterical laughter.
This is Offred's way of acknowledging the hopelessness of her situation after the Commander makes her kiss him 'as if she meant it,' as well as a way to represent a woman's response to the experience of Gilead as a whole.
Epilogue In the video conference context, Professor Pieixoto asks for any questions, prompting the end of the opera with the lights turning on in the theatre.
The musical style is narrative rather than lyric, but Offred does have two full arias, several mini-arias, a beautiful and moving duet with her younger self, and she is one of the quartet at the climax of the opera.
In April 2022 the Artistic Director of the English National Opera, Annilese Miskimmon, directed a new production for ENO; conductor Joana Carneiro, designer Annemarie Woods.
[8] In October 2022 the Royal Danish Opera mounted a new production in Copenhagen; the director was John Fulljames, the conductor Jessica Cottis, the designer Chloe Lamford.
Glow Lyric Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina, presented the opera during its summer festival season in July 2023.
[9] The German premiere was on June 28, 2024 at the Freiburg Theater: director Peter Carp, conductor Ektoras Tartanis, set design Kaspar Zwimper, costumes Gabriele Rupprecht.
The Minnesota and Toronto premieres were widely praised by the critics (e.g. "This well-conceived production restores confidence in the possibilities of contemporary opera as compelling theater" - USA Today).
Both the first Copenhagen and London seasons, and the later productions in America and Canada, were successes with the opera-going public, with houses consistently selling out.
The music alternates between harsh dissonances and sections of religious devotion, suggesting the brutal theocracy of Gilead.
[2] Bentley's effective libretto illustrates the consequences that come from constructing a world of ritual repression while also showing a compelling representation of both Offred's present and past lives.
Through this approach, the subjectivity of the narrative is apparent because the story only has direct insight into one person's perspective rather than revealing the thoughts and intentions of other characters.
[3] The direct, objective storytelling nature of theatrical opera opens the story to the audience as eyewitnesses to the events happening on stage.