Making 'Awakenings' Sing – Creators Talk of Opera from Oliver Sacks' Bestseller

Both a neurologist and a globally celebrated author, Dr. Oliver Sacks lived in the closet for most of his life, emerging only shortly before his death in 2015. But even before that he was out to people who mattered to him: His partner, Bill Hayes, of course, but also his friends Tobias Picker, a celebrated composer whose work includes the operas "Emmeline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and "An American Tragedy," and Picker's life partner, Dr. Aryeh Lev Stollman, a neuroradiologist and prize-winning author of gay-themed fiction, with three novels and a collection of short stories to his credit.

From that friendship – and from the four-decade-plus committed union between Picker and Stollman – an adaptation of Dr. Sacks' most iconic work, "Awakenings," has come to fruition. "Awakenings" the book is a collection of case studies that Sacks wrote about a number of patients suffering from the so-called "sleeping sickness," encephalitis lethargica, that afflicted thousands of people worldwide in the 1920s. The book's thrilling core premise, though – and the focal point of its 1990 film adaptation – was what happened when Dr. Sacks administered levodopa, also known as L-dopa, to seemingly-catatonic patients in Beth Abrahams Hospital, in New York, who were suffering from the malady. As the title suggests, they woke up... which is to say, they came to life, able to move, speak, and interact with the world like anyone else. The treatment's curative effects were tragically short-lived, but the story remains a poignant classic of medical literature.

"Awakenings" hasn't just been turned into a movie; the story was the basis of a British documentary, as well as a ballet (also composed by Picker) and, Picker reminded EDGE, inspired a play by Harold Pinter, "A Kind of Alaska." It's no coincidence that Picker composed both the ballet and the opera; as Picker told EDGE, the ballet came about as a direct consequence of his many years of effort trying to get the opera commissioned. His persistence paid off: The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis commissioned the work, which premiered last year. Now, "Awakenings" is about to have its East Coast premiere on Feb. 25, in a one-night-only, fully staged presentation at the Huntington Theater in Boston.

Picker and Stollman aren't resting on their laurels. They've gone on to create another opera of LGBTQ+ interest. "Lili Elbe," based on the life of the title character, will premiere later this year. "Lili Elbe" is the story of one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment surgery; if the name sounds familiar, you might have heard of Elbe from the 2015 Tom Hooper movie "The Danish Girl," which is also based (loosely) on Elbe's life story.

EDGE spoke with Picker and Stollman about the rich history behind the opera, their friendship with Dr. Oliver Sacks, and what it was like for them to enter into artistically creative teamwork after decades of committed life partnership.

EDGE: Mr. Picker, you're referred to the late Oliver Sacks as having been a friend and someone who "freed" you from shame around suffering Tourette's Syndrome. Did Dr. Sacks' involvement include treatment, or was it more a matter of him providing insight and moral support?

Tobias Picker: He was not formally treating me. In the 25 years I knew him he only took one patient at a time, and since we were friends, it would have been inappropriate [for him to treat me]. The way he helped me was that he had a theory as to what had caused my Tourette's, and that was very helpful because there was something to hold on to. He helped me overcome the shame because he accepted me. We talked about it a lot, and he was interested to know about my own experience. It was the first time anyone ever really asked me questions about it. Somehow, it made me come out as having Tourette's; as a young man, I tried to hide it. Nobody knew what it was.

EDGE: What makes this particular story so worthy of adaptation into different storytelling modes?

Aryeh Lev Stollman: In his book, there were 20 case histories. (Not in the '73 edition, but in the 1990 edition.) They are each individual stories of patients' case histories. When he was writing these case histories, he realized that these were not your usual patients; these patients sort of rose to the level of allegory and myth because of their illness. There were tens of thousands institutionalized all over the world, frozen like statues – like Sleeping Beauty – and then awakened. I think that power of myth and allegory is what makes multiple adaptations possible.

EDGE: Your background as a neuroradiologist, Dr. Stollman, would seem to make you ideal to write a libretto for an opera based on this material. What were the challenges in turning these case histories into a narrative?

Aryeh Lev Stollman: In the hospital, probably, there were multiple interactions between patients. But the stories were written as individual case histories with very little interaction between characters. I picked three main characters and put them together and made a story of them, and also included Dr. Sacks and the staff who took care of the patients.

I had written two novels before, so I had some experience with storytelling and making stories out of characters. I think once the characters come alive for you, then the story comes out of that.

EDGE: I'm intrigued about how your creative endeavors and your personal connection are intertwined. Did they develop together? Did opera bring you together in the first place?

Tobias Picker: We met when we were both 26, and I didn't write my first opera until it was 42. But I would say we were we were brought together by love at first sight, an instantaneous bond.

[In addition to his literary accomplishments] he pursued his medical career, which focuses on the brain. When "Awakenings" came along, it was serendipitous that I was looking for a librettist to write it. It was a little bit like, you know, Dorothy having to look no further than her own backyard. There he was, across the apartment. He had both the literary and scientific knowledge, plus he knew Oliver. I said, "Do you think you can do this?" And he said, yes, he was completely confident that he could do it, and he wrote a great libretto. And the new one is also great, "Lili Elbe," which is the first grand opera to be written about a trans person for a trans opera singer.

EDGE: Dr. Stollman, how was that process for you? Were the two of you pretty much on the same page from the first, or did you have to adapt to working together?

Aryeh Lev Stollman: I had a 25-year masterclass watching him writing, and I watched the process with the librettist and the composer. I think we work very well together. We work differently than he worked with his other librettists because we're together all the time, but it seemed a natural offshoot from our being together for so long. And it's the same thing with "Lili Elbe," which, as Tobias said, is about one of the first people who underwent gender affirmation surgery, in the 1920s.

EDGE: That's another fascinating story that's been adapted into a movie ["The Danish Girl"].

Tobias Picker: He based his libretto on Lili Elbe's life. She wrote a memoir.

Aryeh Lev Stollman: I've never adapted a novel to be an opera, so I can't really speak to that, but taking the case histories in the case of "Awakenings," and taking the story of Lili Elbe, gave me a lot of freedom in writing the story. If you're following a novel's [story] line, you're sort of straightjacketed into that story, whereas with these two operas I enjoy the fact that I had freedom to imagine [how to fill in] the gaps that we don't know.

EDGE: Mr. Picker, as a composer, did the scientific source material affect how you structured the music's architecture or affect the musical colors you wanted to use?

Tobias Picker: These two operas are more... well, they're more mature. I think "Awakenings" and "Lili Elbe" are the most beautiful my seven operas, and it must have something to do with the subject matter.

But I should say that the uniqueness of writing an opera about someone who happened to be a world figure... he was a world figure, but he was my friend. That makes it very personal and, emotionally, so involving to see him come to life on stage with Jarrett Porter, who really channels him in a way that I'm convinced that Oliver is there – that he's come back to life. What composer is so blessed and so lucky to have that?

"Awakenings" will be presented as a fully-staged opera for one night only on Feb. 25, 2023, at the Huntington Theater in Boston. For tickets and more information, follow this link.