Who wrote the libretto for the opera adaptation?

Paul Bentley wrote the libretto for the opera adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale.

The opera was composed by Danish composer Poul Ruders, using Bentley’s English-language libretto as its textual foundation. Rather than simply reproduce Margaret Atwood’s first-person novel, Bentley reshaped its narrative into a stage work with a prologue, two acts and an epilogue.

That adaptation required a major structural change. Atwood’s novel is filtered through Offred’s personal voice and memories, while the opera uses framing devices, including an academic-conference setting, to present the story as a historical account from a future after Gilead’s fall. The approach lets the opera move between testimony, flashback and dramatic action.

The work premiered in Copenhagen in 2000, although it was commissioned for performance in Danish and has also been staged in English. Its music alternates severe dissonance with religious and lyrical passages, reflecting the contrast between Gilead’s ritualized ideology and the characters’ private suffering. Nicholas Wright and David Pountney are associated with other operatic or theatrical projects, but neither wrote this libretto.