This was a fascinating experience. The Los Angeles Opera asked me to do the pre-performance lectures before each of the six performances of Howard Shore’s new opera The Fly, directed by David Cronenberg. It’s an entirely new work, although Shore and Cronenberg collaborated on the 1986 film version with Jeff Goldblum. I was called the week of the premiere, so my first (partial) glimpse of the work was actually at dress rehearsal a few hours before it opened. But Howard was very generous with his time and it was fun for me to introduce opera-goers to the saga of the short story, the ’50s film, the ’80s film, and Howard’s own journey from film score to major American opera.