Gerald Corbiau, director of arthouse hit Farinelli, is set to direct Le Diable Au Corps, an opera film that's being written expressly for the screen, rather than adapted from an existing opera. It's a bold strategy, Cotton, let's see if it pays off for them.
Fay Weldon is writing both opera libretto and screenplay, which is based on Raymond Radiguet's 1923 novel of the same name (roughly translated, that's "Devil In The Flesh"). The story is set in a quiet town outside Paris, on the eve of World War I, and sees a schoolboy, Raymond, and a 19 year-old woman, left behind when her husband heads off to the front, begin an affair. The leads have yet to be cast, but Raymond's parents will be voiced by Jose Van Dam and Frederica von Stade.
The songs and music have been composed by France's Alain Jomy. Opera-lovers should keep an eye out for this in 2010, we're guessing.