Composer Matthew Wilder talks upcoming new musical ‘Stiletto’: “I’ve been able to discuss topics I couldn’t have touched decades ago”

The Academy Award nominee is finally bringing to the stage the project of a lifetime – depicting the fascinating real story of the now gone castrati singers. Guillermo Nazara chats with the artist, to learn all the facts about the creation of this ambitious piece, and how they got the balls rolling.

After 40 years in the making, how does it feel to be finally bringing this show to the London scene?

It’s such a great relief to get to a stage where we all get to see it for the first time. I think of that expression, “don’t get over the tips of your skis”, and I think it’s accurate for this – it’s all about the work. I’m still focused on getting it right. Much of my energy is being given to that, rather than having grand illusions. We’re, of course, hoping that when it’s onstage, everything will go the right way and our child will become an adult.

What enticed you to write a musical about the castrati?

Years ago, I read a book about this subject. Sadly, I lost my nephew in an accident some time ago – who’s the same age as my older son. I wrote a Requiem for him that’s still in the fabric of this piece. One thing led to another. I was being influenced by the book I was reading. That grew into a concept; and later, into 40 years of this on-and-off process. The fact that, after so long, this project has survived the passage of time is reassuring. Ironically, Sir Robert Stigwood (the music and theatre impresario that discovered the Bee Gees, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Grease and Saturday Night Fever among many others) brought this into a place where it seemed the concept was going to have its day. Unfortunately, it was a false start and Robert passed away several years ago. But the poetic part of it is that the Robert Stigwood Organization is involved in this current production now.

How has the score evolved in terms of style and genre over the years?

A lot! It’s all changed through the evolutionary process, and I have more songs in the editing room that the ones that have made the final cut in this version. You learn a lot from this process. But also, the world is very different now – what we were permitted to talk about back then, and what we are able to speak now has influenced our piece significantly. I’ve been able to discuss topics I couldn’t have touched decades ago.

What are those themes?

Everything that has to do with sexual mores has changed – so has the dialogue. People were a lot more guarded, back in those days, about what was commercially viable – although it of course depended on who was in charge. As the years have gone on, I’ve been allowed to go back to what I believe what the show wants to talk about.

While listening to your score during the rehearsals, I can hear a mixture of an old Italian flavour blending with a contemporary style. How would you describe your musical approach to this piece?

What a great question! To me, it feels like a confluence of worlds colliding in the score. I was classically trained. Both my mother and my son are opera singers. There’s a deep understanding of that music just through that organic osmosis. My father was a theatrical advertiser on Broadway – so, as a child, I got to see all the original casts in great shows like Oliver! or The Sound of Music. You can imagine that my vocabulary was such that, when it comes to representing an aria in a musical, I can bring that classical underpinning. Representing opera within the fabric of a musical was a task for which I had to dig dip, to honour it in a way that feels real. This show is all about singers and great singing – and we have to deliver that promise.

Being the show about singers and onstage for the very first time, is any part of the score written specifically for any of the current performers?

I don’t want to give away too much about the show’s surprises, so let me put it this way: when Marco, our protagonists, comes to expositional moments, he’s a rock high tenor. However, when he must sing opera, there’s a switch… but you’re going to find out when you see it!

What other creative challenges have you found in this show in particular?

It really has been a very long process of experimentation to achieve this specific sound. I remember how, many years ago, Stephen Sondheim’s agent told me: “don’t get yourself castrated by trying to put this on as your first musical”. Those were interesting words if you consider how long it’s taken to get to this point now. I think the biggest challenge has been to balance the contemporary, and how the show can speak to today’s audiences, and simultaneously go for that classical undertone. We don’t bend it to the point of breaking the classical flavour, but we don’t try to present ourselves as Puccini or any other opera composer – we’re telling a story about opera in the contemporary form of a musical.

If you had to give me one single reason to see Stiletto, which one would it be?

You’ve never seen anything like this onstage before. It’s a series of firsts: we’ve never spoken about this, it’s historical, it challenges, and it’s just other-worldly in every sense of the word.

Rehearsal pictures credit to Ryan Howard.

Stiletto will play at London’s Charing Cross Theatre from 24 March to 14 June. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara