I saw Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining sometime in the early 1980s, had nightmares for weeks afterwards and have seen precious few horror films since. Yet listening to this recording of Paul Moravec’s 2016 opera didn’t darken my dreams (although a few scenes elevated my heart rate), and I think this is because Mark Campbell’s stunningly succinct libretto is based directly on Stephen King’s 1977 best-selling novel rather than Kubrick’s adaptation.

The basic storyline is the same, in any case: Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic, takes a job as winter caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel and becomes possessed by its demons as well as his own, leading him to attempt to murder his wife Wendy and their young son Danny, who has psychic abilities. The key difference is that the Jack that Moravec and Campbell present to us is so clearly a good man at heart, and as horrifying as his actions become, we are almost constantly made aware of his internal struggle. As a result, even the scenes that are frightening (including most of Act 2) don’t feel gratuitous.

It helps, too, that Moravec’s score is overwhelmingly lyrical, even in portentous moments such as Jack’s aria ‘Hold on, Jacky boy’ in scene 6 of Act 1, where he’s desperately attempting to keep his demons at bay. One truly feels for him. Campbell emphasises Jack’s past by amplifying the role of his abusive father, who appears as one of many apparitions inhabiting the shadows of the Overlook. Wendy’s character isn’t as richly developed, it’s true, but then one of this opera’s greatest strengths is its narrative thrust, and I think its creators were wise to favour concision.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Moravec plays with tonality vs atonality in portraying Jack’s struggle with his demons, and although I wish that many of the gruesome scenes had been given music that relied less on cliché, the score nonetheless effectively engages the emotions. And there are some imaginative touches, as well, as in the way Moravec has the spoken role of Danny sung by a spectral chorus when he’s ‘shining’ (ie when his psychic powers are at full swing). And I thought I also caught a few clever operatic allusions, as in scene 6 of Act 1, where Jack’s cries of ‘Nothing!’ put me in mind of Siegmund’s ‘Nothung!’, and in the following scene where the voice of Jack’s father comes through the CB radio like the voice of the Commendatore from marble in the statue scene from Don Giovanni.

This recording fields an excellent cast. It’s easy to want to forgive Edward Parks’s Jack, whose sweet tone makes this troubled character alluringly sympathetic. Kelly Kaduce’s Wendy is a touch matronly, perhaps, due to her wide vibrato, but her warm, nurturing qualities are never in doubt. Aubrey Allicock ably portrays the gruff but lovable cook whose psychic abilities bond him to Danny, and the supporting cast is consistently strong. Gerard Schwarz conducts the complex score with assurance and dramatic flair, and inspires the Kansas City Symphony to dig into their demanding parts with gusto.