So I have chosen to set the story in the nebulous past. When we read the novel, we assume – though Lois Lowry never explicitly states – that the story is set in the nebulous future. Or rather, I went back in time to create a piece of theater that the ancient Greeks would find completely familiar. What the Giver does not have that I needed for this adaptation was a large role for Chorus. The vagaries of the story itself, its largeness and opacity, the fact that much about The Community is not articulated, the continuous thread of question marks for both Jonas and the audience, all these are made to order for dramatic music theater. The characters each have utterly distinct voices – including Mother, Father, Lily, Fiona, Asher – who sang to me in distinct rhythms and styles. Every time Jonas has a moment of reflection or realization, this is the expression of the inner voice that is the very stuff of opera.
Every time the Giver transmits a memory to Jonas there is an outpouring of descriptive text crying out to be turned into orchestral music. Why was it so clear to me the book wanted to be an opera? First and last, it is filled with musical moments. It demands a level of both outward observation and inward reflection that is new and, judging from the passion so many feel for the book, thrilling. For many young people, The Giver is the first book they read that truly talks up to them. Ask anyone under age 28 about The Giver and you’ll get a strong response.
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