Where Maurice Sendak Has Been

Friday is the opening of the Where the Wild Things Are movie. And coinciding with this was a moving and very true and honest portrait of Maurice Sendak on HBO last night. You can surely catch it again before it finally disappears. It is the real thing about the real man behind the magical books. Go to the HBO website linked to above and find a time. Its a must see.

We watched it Thursday evening alternately with laughter and tears. Maurice has been an important part of my life for the last 29 years and we do not see enough of him. But we spoke this morning and I will try to get to see him before the end of the year.

He was in Chicago with Chicago Opera Theater, of course, for Brundibar in 2003.

But we go back long before that. His Love for Three Oranges production was one of the early successes of my time as General Administrator of Glyndebourne in the 1980s. Subsequently the final version of Oliver Knussen's Wild Things was produced at Glyndebourne -- directed, as Oranges had been, by Frank Corsaro. We commissioned Knussen's opera Higglety Pigglety Pop! to go in a double bill with Wild Things, and his magical production with Frank of Ravel's L'heure espagnole and L'enfant et les sortileges in 1987 completed his work there. This was not nothing -- Bernard Haitink conducted Oranges, Simon Rattle conducted the Ravel.

They were wonderful years. COT did the Brundibar in 2003 in a double bill with Martinu's Comedy on the Bridge with translations of both operas by Tony Kushner (photos below). But in fact Maurice had worked with COT before I arrived here -- there were performances of Wild Things by COT at the Auditorium Theater in 1988. Small world. Short life ...

Comments

[boomer59]

I just listened to interviews that Mr. Sendack did with NPR's Fresh Air, and I have to tell you that this man enchanted me! I have to say I have never fallen in love with someone just by listening to them on the radio, but that is exactly what it feels like; the excitement of meeting a new love! Now let's not confuse it with romantic love, but all I can say is, this man now owns a piece of my heart! His real-life stories and anecdotes about the inspiration behind some of his books, just kept me enthralled! I am a 50 year old woman and I am going to run out and buy all his books, I don't care if they are childrens books! Thank you, thank you NPR for replaying these interviews!

[Brian Dickie - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes he did for the Seattle Ballet and there is a lovely book of it as well.

[mlaiuppa]

Didn't he also design a production of The Nutcracker ballet?