Pete Townsend's Latest Rock Opera

Posted by Sarah Canice Funke Jul 14, 2007

Pete Townsend's vision for rock opera started back in 1969, with the production of Tommy. Though Tommy is called the first rock opera, the title is not quite accurate since the work is not really staged. However, Townsend's latest rock opera, The Boy Who Heard Music, will receive a test run at a theatre festival in New York (presumably the opera will be staged eventually, if reviews are favorable).

The Boy Who Heard Music first emerged as an Internet novella published on a blog, a strategy Townsend claims helped him to establish the narrative thread before adding the music. According to Vasser College's website, the story is "a hallucinatory tale about the rise and fall of a band made up of three teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds as seen through the eyes of an aging rock star."

The rock opera received a test run at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, the site of New York Stage and Films' 23rd Powerhouse Theater festival. Originally scheduled for two performances, The Boy Who Heard Music sold tickets so well that Powerhouse director Ed Cheetham decided to add a third performance. Musicians read and sang through the play on Friday evening (July 13) and twice on Saturday (July 14).

For more information, please read the Yahoo story.