Codebreaker Alan Turing's life to premiere in Chicago as an Opera - March 2023

The life of the Enigma genius has already been a movie - The Imitation Game - with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Now it’s about to be an opera in Chicago – three nights only - March 23 to March 25 2023, Chicago Opera Theatre.

Commissioned by American Lyric Theater in 2012 to commemorate the Turing Centennial, The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing is an evening-length opera inspired by the life of the groundbreaking computer scientist, Alan Turing. 

Alan Turing. Photo: reddit "History in Colour" project

After saving England in World War II by cracking the Nazi U-boat code, he was found guilty of gross indecency for a homosexual relationship. He chose chemical castration over imprisonment as his punishment. 

Two years later, Turing was found poisoned near a cyanide-laced apple with a bite taken from it. The apple is believed to be a reference to his obsession with Disney’s Snow White, and the image is rumoured to be the inspiration for Apple Computer’s logo. 

Turing’s mysterious death was labeled a suicide – but there are many other theories.

Artists’ Statements: 

By JUSTINE F. CHEN AND DAVID SIMPATICO

“Our opera imagines the man inside the legend of Alan Turing: his unique perspective of the universe, his unabashed view of his homosexuality, and his impact on the future of civilisation. 

This piece is relevant today not only for restoring Turing to our collective memory, but also because the institutionalised homophobic attitudes faced by Turing continue to threaten the lives of gay men and women across the globe. 

In fact, this opera is not merely about homophobia, it is about prejudice. This opera celebrates the power of memory, creativity, and the potential within us all to live fully and truly.”

Musical Director LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA

"I’ve been a part of this opera’s development for nearly a decade. It’s been so gratifying to see Justine’s unique voice and David’s dynamic storytelling evolve to bring this powerful work to its full potential. I can’t wait for audiences to finally experience this long-awaited premiere."

Theatrical release poster

PRESS REVIEWS FROM THE CULMINATION OF A ONE WEEK WORKSHOP:

“This one-night concert performance was the culmination of a weeklong workshop… it was a revelatory evening, worthy of the man who invented the modern computer and facilitated the Allied victory in World War II by breaking the German military’s secret code—only to be prosecuted and chemically castrated by British authorities for homosexual activity… which was then illegal and heavily policed.” Baritone Jonathan Michie was outstanding as Turing, the half-dozen singers in featured roles all turned in top-notch performances, and Chen’s terrific score made inventive use of Northwestern University’s Bienen Contemporary and Early Vocal Ensemble as chorus.”

Deanna Isaacs — Chicago Reader, February 21, 2019

“Silence—feeling as long as five seconds—seemed to underline that we in the audience were now a part of opera history. This was the end of a performance… capping a weeklong workshop of The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing by composer Justine F. Chen and librettist David Simpatico. Though still a work-in-progress, there are already so many moments of transporting music in this work that one can’t imagine —or at least this reviewer can’t—that ..Turing won’t someday be on the calendar of one of the world’s great opera houses.”

— Picture This, February 16, 2019

Text first published at American Lyric Theatre website, February 2023