McEwan wants to break mold with opera

LONDON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- British novelist Ian McEwan, known best for the book "Atonement," says his first opera does not use traditional devices such as fantasy elements.

McEwan said when he was creating his text for the opera "For You," which is set for performances at London's Royal Opera House, he purposefully avoided adding anything too silly to his creation, The Sunday Times of London reported.

"When I was thinking about writing this libretto, I was clear that I wanted psychological realism," he told the newspaper, referring to the opera script known as a libretto. "I also knew what I didn't want: no supernatural elements, no fairy tales, no folk tales."

The author did admit that once his operatic work was finished and rehearsals began, he added more color to the realistic characters he created for "For You."

"I don't think so, but what I did discover is that, once you hear your words being sung, you turn up the volume on the characters and make them more colorful," he told the Times when asked if his script lost its intended realism.

Performances of "You" begin at the opera house's Linbury Studio Tuesday.