Gory Elf Love Subject Of Green-Wood Cemetery Opera

WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN — A new opera about an amorous and decapitated elf is opening in the catacombs of Brooklyn.

"The Rose Elf" — an opera about elves, “a senseless act of violence” and the transformation of a “strange and sensuous being” — will make its world debut in the Green-Wood Cemetery catacombs on June 6th, according to the cemetery website.

This tale of a young couple ripped apart (when one of them is ripped apart) is based on a Hans Christian Andersen story that composer David Hertzberg told The Brooklyn Paper could only be performed underneath a cemetery.

“There’s an intense eroticism and volatility that will explode in this environment,” Hertzber said. “It’s kind of a visceral power that is hard to often achieve in a normal concert hall setting.”

While the “The Rose Elf” is sold out, $30 tickets were still available for the dress rehearsal on June 4th as of Tuesday afternoon.

This won't be your last chance to hear music in the tombs — the opera is also just the first in a summer-long cemetery series called “The Angel’s Share.”

Find out more about the production on the Green-Wood Cemetery website and read the full Brooklyn Paper preview here.

“The Rose Elf” will be performed at 500 25th St. on June 6th, 8th, and 10th at 7:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of the Green-Wood Cemetery's summer film screening series courtesy of Shutterstock