From “Dancer in the Dark” by Lars von Trier to “Selma Jezková” by Poul Ruders: The Opera Adaptation of the Film

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DOI 10.34690/600

Author Ekaterina G. Okuneva

Affiliation Glazunov Petrozavodsk State Conservatory, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Email okunevaeg@yandex.ru

ORCID

0000-0001-5253-8863

Abstract

The “visual turn” in the culture of the 21st century led to a diverse interaction of musical theater with media genres. One of the aspects of this process was the transfer of the film to the opera, a phenomenon that has so far been little studied in Russian musicology. Using the example of Danish composer Poul Ruders’ work “Selma Jezková” (2007), the article examines the features of the “analogical” adaptation of the film source (according to the classification proposed by J. P. Cachopo). The work is based on Lars von Trier’s film “Dancer in the Dark” (2000), which represents a unique fusion of the poetics of the Hollywood musical with the principles of Dogme 95. An analysis of the libretto shows that Ruders significantly reduces and schematizes the story, which allows him to identify the antagonism of male and female principles, characteristic of the film poetics of Trier’s late career. The film’s genre and technical features (the use of handheld and static cameras, the synthesis of art house and mainstream) reflect the director’s strategy of artistic confrontation, which the composer implements through the contrast of musical and stylistic means—the expressionist sound is contrasted with the linguistic idioms of romanticism and Hollywood musicals. Ruders abandons the provocative tactics of the Danish director. His “analogical” adaptation is likened to a film adaptation of a literary work and contributes to the expansion of the intertextual space of the composition by appealing to European opera classics (in particular, to Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly”).

For citation

Okuneva, E. G. “From ‘Dancer in the Dark’ by Lars von Trier to ‘Selma Jezková’ by Poul Ruders: the opera adaptation of the film,” Muzykal’naya akademiya [Music Academy], no. 1, 2026, pp. 62–75, doi:10.34690/600. (In Russ.)

Published 15.10.2025

Approved 14.11.2025

Submitted 23.03.2026

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From “Dancer in the Dark” by Lars von Trier to “Selma Jezková” by Poul Ruders: The Opera Adaptation of the Film

From “Dancer in the Dark” by Lars von Trier to “Selma Jezková” by Poul Ruders: The Opera Adaptation of the Film

References

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