Even when he eats a bowl of cereal, Copson said, it “feels potent.” “Last Days” became a reference point in those conversations because all Blake’s actions, no matter how mundane, seemed profound given his impending suicide. Leith had wanted to make his first opera, and after meeting Copson, the pair talked about how they both loved finding “mystery and magic” in everyday objects, Leith remembered. The idea for making “Last Days” also had little to do with Cobain as a person, said Leith, the Royal Opera House’s composer-in-residence. “Do we need something to sacrifice every once in a while?”

“What do we want by these people?” he asked. Society fetishizes figures who live close to the edge, Copson added. “Every few years, we get another,” Copson said, mentioning the rappers Lil Peep, who died in 2017, and Juice WRLD, who died in 2019. It’s also one of the more unusual, being based on Gus Van Sant’s largely wordless and plot-free 2005 movie “ Last Days,” in which a Cobain-like character roams around a country house falling asleep, listening to music and trying to avoid his housemates, manager, a Yellow Pages salesman and two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Ĭobain was an “archetype” of pop stars who rebel against society, he said, then find their music and style co-opted by mainstream culture, and struggle to cope with the contradictions. “Last Days,” which premieres on Friday, is one of the most eagerly anticipated new operas in Britain this fall, having long sold out a four-night run. That prop remains onstage throughout the opera, reminding the audience of the forthcoming tragedy and the potential cost of fame. Rousselle was also wearing the style of vintage white sunglasses Cobain made famous.Īs Rousselle hid under the coat, the stage manager appeared, carrying a shotgun. Rousselle was rehearsing “ Last Days,” a new opera in which she plays out the final hours in the life of Blake, a rock star reminiscent of Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the grunge band Nirvana who died by suicide in 1994. LONDON - Onstage at the Royal Opera House here last Friday, the actor Agathe Rousselle pulled a huge, furry green coat over her head as four singers swarmed around her, demanding money and favors.

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