Photo: Getty Images North America
Smashing Pumpkins' iconic third album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness turns 30 this year, and the band is celebrating in a big way. On Tuesday (March 11), bandleader Billy Corgan announced a run of orchestral shows in their hometown of Chicago.
Corgan plans to stage a weeklong residency at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. "A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness" will see the venue’s acclaimed house orchestra and chorus join Corgan “for an immersive original sonic and visual experience that blurs the boundaries of opera, rock, and performance art.”
“It is thrilling to collaborate with Lyric head John Mangum, my musical partner James Lowe, and all of the artists at Lyric in reimagining this very special and historic album, and to discover how Lyric’s full operatic treatment is helping me experience my own compositions in powerful new ways," Corgan said in a statement. "Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way.”
“The versions that most people would be familiar with are the versions that the band did,” he added in a video trailer. “We’re very proud of those versions, but as the writer I know there’s other ways to do this music. So, the idea here is to create an interpretive effect that’s a single standalone event — like, you have to see this if you want to experience the album in a completely different way. It doesn’t betray the original spirit of the album. In fact, I think it’ll even enhance it.”
"A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness" is schedule to run November 21-30.
Watch the video teaser below.