About the work
The Exterminating Angel is an opera in three acts by Thomas Adès after Luis Buñuel's 1962 film "El ángel exterminador"; Adès wrote the libretto together with director Tom Cairns. It premiered on 28 July 2016 at the Haus für Mozart during the Salzburg Festival, a joint commission with the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Danish Opera.
Plot
After a dinner party in a grand house, the guests find themselves unable to leave the drawing room, with no visible force keeping them there. As days pass, the veneer of their society collapses into fear, hunger and violence. Fifteen principal roles, on stage for almost the entire piece, carry the dense ensemble scenes.
Cultural significance
The work is Adès's largest operatic cast to date and echoes the claustrophobic, socially critical world of his earlier opera "Powder Her Face." The international co-commission quickly brought follow-up productions at all four participating houses.