Let's make an opera...

I was excited to read that Ian McEwan, of Atonement fame, is writing a libretto for an opera, with music to be composed by Michael Berkeley. From descriptions of music in certain of his books, Ian McEwan's affinity with music is clear: "[the] guitar starts out alone with a languorous two-bar turnaround, a simple descending line from the fifth fret, tumbling into a thick chord which oozes into a second and remains hanging there, an unresolved fading seventh...." (from Saturday). Browsing McEwan's website, I discovered that he had already collaborated with Michael Berkeley, producing an oratorio entitled "Or Shall We Die?".