'Inconvenient Truth' Opera Inconveniently Loses Director

A operatic adaptation of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth has hit some snags, reports the New York Times. Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin, of films such as The French Connection and The Exorcist, has quit the production. He cited artistic differences with the poet J.D. McClatchy, who is writing the libretto, but that may not be the case: Giorgio Battistelli, the composer of the opera, told a paper that Friedkin's reasons were personal, not artistic. Battistelli was also critical of Friedkin's qualifications and background, saying "Opera isn’t Hollywood."

Either way,  questions remain about how well the film will translate to opera - and if it will draw a crowd. Will a Power Point presentation look out of place on the grand stage of Milan's La Scala, where the work is set to debut in 2011?

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