My opera originated from re-visiting Classical Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's early novel "The Double" and the movie made after the novel in 2013 (directed by Richard Ayoade, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska). Being inspired by the story, I asked the librettist Sarah LaBrie to write a new original libretto for a chamber opera, in which she re-tells the story from three different points of view: one of the main character (Noth, an analogy of Dostoevsky’s Golyadkin), another one from the girl he loves (Klara), and the last one from the Therapist (Dr. Rutenspitz in Dostoevsky), who treats them both and in the process of this treatment creates Noth’s Double. In the original novel “The Double,” the main character’s double is confident and aggressive, which are often seen as ideal masculine behaviors. The main character, however, is unlike this in real life. He develops a relationship with this double, which drives him mad. As I dove into this subject matter, it struck me how many of today’s mental health problems are blamed on, if not caused by how we project our public image through social media. I also considered the fact that our public presence is often not representative of our real selves, but rather an ideal self. As the story develops, the “ideal” double of the main character replaces the main character and wins over his beloved Klara with the help of the Therapist. This post-modern chamber opera, written for 4 singers, “Pierrot+” ensemble, and pre-recorded sounds, operates with opera and musical theatre idioms to create a pointed and satirical take upon a contemporary Doppelgänger, our relationship with our socially projected public image and how it affects people’s mental health.

My opera originated from re-visiting Classical Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's early novel "The Double" and the movie made after the novel in 2013 (directed by Richard Ayoade, starring Jesse Eisenberg