Canada's Daniel Okulitch and Romania's Ruxandra Donose starred in the Paris production of The Fly opera, directed by David Cronenberg. (Marie Noelle Robert/Chatelet Theater/Associated Press)

It's perhaps not surprising given the metamorphic theme of David Cronenberg's 1986 film The Fly (a remake of the 1958 original) that the story has recently been transformed into an entirely different art form: the opera.

After opening in Paris to mixed reviews, The Fly has flown into Los Angeles, where it opens Sept. 7 for six performances.

An impressive roster of talent is behind the production, including some high-profile Canadians.

In addition to the Toronto-based Cronenberg, who handles directing duties, the production features Oscar-winning, Toronto-born composer Howard Shore, as well as Daniel Okulitch, who stars as Seth Brundle and divides his time between New York and Vancouver.

Placido Domingo conducts the production.

"This opera is my favourite opera," Cronenberg said during an interview at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

"I'm being totally serious. I love this opera. The more I hear it, the more I love it. Part of it is that it's a contemporary approach to opera, which is different from the classics. The more I see older operas, the more I like this one."

A Canadian temperament

Cronenberg said the number of Canadians involved with the production, including his sister Denise (costume designer) is an "accident," but admits it gives them common ground.

"It's an understanding. It's a very different temperament that we have in Canada and it's very congenial. I spend a lot of time explaining to Americans — well, I used to, I don't do it so much anymore — why we are, in fact, quite different.

"We didn't have a civil war, we didn't have a revolution, we didn't have slavery, people don't own guns, and those are really serious cultural differences in the evolution of our countries, which have led to very different attitudes to health to the social net, the idea that you take care of other people and you don't just look out for yourself."

Daniel Okulitch, the 32-year-old, six-foot-four-inch lead, echoes Cronenberg's sentiments, but admits feeling a kinship to both countries since he received his education in the United States.

"I can sense the differences when I go back and forth," he said.

"Going to Vancouver, you kind of find your grounding again."

Lately, however, he hasn't had a lot of downtime. As the production's star, he must transform into a fly every night, outfitted in an all encompassing one-piece costume that has to be put on in seven minutes.

"The hardest thing to shake off is the fatigue," he says. "It's really demanding."

Shore, who scored the film version of the The Fly, said he saw it as an opera even then.

"I became interested in opera in the late 1970s," he said. "When we did The Fly in the '80s, I was heavily into Italian opera. The release of The Fly in Italy was called La Mosca and I saw it in Florence and I thought … 'This should be staged as an opera.' Then, I started thinking about the characters and dreaming about it, so the idea was really hatched around the time of the film in the '80s, and it's been a wonderful journey. I've enjoyed every part of it. Bringing together different artists from different mediums was wonderful."

Though the opera is only scheduled to be performed in Los Angeles, both Cronenberg and Shore would love to stage their baby in their homeland.

Shore, who moved to New York in 1975, is excited about the prospect.

"I hope maybe now there will be more interest," he says. "We'd love to do it in Canada with the Canadian Opera Company. That would be fantastic."