Kurt Cobain’s final days are brought to the opera stage

Almost 28 years to the day, Kurt Cobain died. He said goodbye to the world in a letter with the Neil Young quote “It’s better to burn out than to fade away”. Now the final days of the grunge icon’s life are being brought to the opera stage. It is based on the drama “Last Days” directed by Gus Van Zant, whose fictional story was inspired by the first days of April 1994.

Composer of the Royal Opera House is a Nirvana disciple

As the British daily newspaper The Guardian reports, the Royal Opera House in London, one of the most renowned opera houses in the world, will be responsible for the adaptation of the film, which was released in 2005. The piece was set to music by the only 32-year-old doctoral guest composer at the venue, Oliver Leith. When Cobain shot himself in the head on April 5, 1994, he was only four years old – but the classical and electronic musician is a big Nirvana fan. He told the Guardian that Cobain’s narrative forms “an archetypal story” for opera. In addition, the film template “Last Days” did not sensationalize the end of the singer.

Play delves “into the anguish that created a modern myth”

The libretto, i.e. the text of the opera for “Last Days”, comes from Matt Copson, who will also direct together with Anna Morrissey. The play will premiere in October at ROH’s 394-seat Linbury Theatre. A statement from the stage said the opera “delves into the anguish that created a modern myth”. The Cobain-based protagonist Blake is “haunted by objects, visitors and memories that distract him from his true goal – self-destruction”.

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