Courtney Love to star in new experimental opera

3 October 2014, 14:23 | Updated: 6 January 2017, 14:45

Rock star Courtney Love will star in a brand new opera opening in New York, entitled 'Kansas City Boys Choir' and premiering at the Prototype: Opera/Theater/Now festival.

Beginning in January 2015, the experimental opera will feature songs by composer and lyricist Todd Almond, performed by Courtney Love and accompanied by new music specialists Contemporaneous Ensemble.

Love, who found fame as singer and guitarist with seminal grunge band Hole, told the New York Times about her surprising move into opera: "I’m looking to do things that are different. I just finished a rock tour of Australia, and it was great, but I’ve been doing that for a long time. I wanted to do something challenging."

Quote gallery: rock stars who love classical music

Fans expecting Love to suddenly perform vocal acrobatics in the style of a coloratura soprano should be warned, though: composer Almond says the work is not strictly operatic:

"When I say 'opera' I don’t mean it's in an operatic style. I mean it in the sense that it's a group of songs that tell a story."

Furthermore, questions about Love's vocal prowess have recently been raised after a 2010 recording of her singing with Hole emerged last month:

Aside from her role in rock history and her marriage to fellow grunge superstar, the late Kurt Cobain, Love has enjoyed an alternative career as an actress in films and television, but this is her first foray into the world of opera or musical theatre.

Do you think Love's voice is up to the challenge? Should rock stars be allowed to take to the operatic stage without any training? Have your say in the comments below.