On Dec. 17, 1996, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) took over the Japanese Embassy in Peru, sparking what has now been known as the "Japanese Embassy hostage crisis." The incident ended after 126 days when the Peruvian Armed Forces raided the embassy.

The infamous moment in Peruvian history went on to inspire a novel by Ann Patchett entitled "Bel Canto." The work takes an interesting spin on the true story with an opera singer perched at the midst of the crisis.

As Peruvian composer Jimmy Lopez noted during an interview with Latin Post, "the novel was begging to be turned into an opera."

And it was. The opera, which came from the mind of famed soprano Renee Fleming, was brought to life by the hard work of Lopez and librettist Nilo Cruz over the course of five years. The work finally had its premiere on Monday, Dec. 7 at the Chicago Lyric Opera.

According to Lopez, Fleming, who was the creative consultant for the project, approached him with the idea back in 2011. He had yet to read the novel, but upon stepping into its world, he was "taken aback."

"I knew that it was something I had to do," he noted before revealing that the Lima, Peru native was 18 years old when the incident happened. "As a Peruvian, I felt responsible for bringing this story to life."

Although he had created another staged work "Los Magos del Silencio," Lopez had never composed an opera. So he knew that the next step was arguably the most crucial -- he had find the man who would pen the text.

More importantly? They had to get along.

"The most important thing is that you and librettist get along," Lopez revealed. "A lot of people told me that I would be working with the writer for three years and that we had to have a good working friendship."

The Librettist

Enter Nilo Cruz, a Cuban playwright best known for his "Anna in the Tropics," for which he won the Pulitzer Prize; he was the first Latino to win the award.  However, the Matanzas native was also inexperienced in the art of writing an opera.

Like Lopez, he had some experience with writing for the voice as he had penned a few oratorios and the musical "Havana," but opera was a wholly unique experience.

Lopez, who had been part of the process in picking the scribe, happened upon Cruz when he read his play "Two Sisters and a Piano."

"A lot of themes that he was writing about, such as house arrest and imprisonment, really fit into what we were looking to do," stated Lopez about working with Cruz.

The first meeting between the two turned out to be a hit, with both developing instant synergy.

"We were supposed to meet for an hour, but wound up talking for five hours," noted Lopez.

Cruz would then go about writing a synopsis for the opera and then set out on numerous drafts of the libretto.

Not only did he collaborate closely with Lopez, but Cruz had tremendous guidance from Fleming. The two would often meet in New York to help him flesh out the musical structure of the work, offering up suggestions on where to write a quartet or duet in particular scenes. As a world class soprano, she also had some tips on how to flesh out the opera's protagonist.

"She was very instrumental in terms of delineating the character of Roxane who was an opera singer, allowing me to understand the psychology," Cruz told Latin Post.

One great challenge for Cruz was writing a complex work that allowed viewers to see the perspective of the terrorist organization without having to empathize with their behavior.

Coming from Cuba, he could understand where the ideas came from and how they developed into the behavior.

"Being a Latin American, I think it made me more sensitive to what the terrorists were fighting for. I think it is important to look at both sides of a character," Cruz explained. "What I really wanted to concentrate on was the impetus for holding these people hostage. What were they after? Where were they coming from and how was it initiated? I think that that kind of violence was inappropriate, but it was crucial to see both sides."

Taking that approach could prove controversial, as evidenced by John Adams' famed (or infamous) work "The Death of Klinghoffer," which made its Metropolitan Opera debut last season and was met with protests, interruptions during performance, and tremendous tension throughout its run.

When asked whether or not he was afraid of seeing a similar reception for "Bel Canto," Cruz emphasized that "One has to be courageous when one enters a work of art. A work of art is filled with questioning. It isn't about proposing solutions. You need to question reality, characters and situations."

Composing Music for Eight Languages

Once the libretto's composition came to a close, it was Lopez's turn to take over and write the actual music.

One of the great challenges to creating the sound world of "Bel Canto" was the fact that the opera comprised eight different languages including Spanish, English, Japanese, Russian, German, Latin and Quechua, many of which Lopez did not speak.

Because of this, he did not have a grasp on the natural cadences of each language and established a methodology to better understand the music rhythms each tongue offered.

He would ask the translators to record each line in three different ways -- a conversational pace, a slower pace and finally a version that separated words into syllables and placed appropriate stress. Only after listening to these recordings a plethora of times did Lopez feel confident in composing a musical line.

"You can't force the language into the musical structure," he asserted. "You have to let the music come out of the language."

But the composition process was a not linear one for Lopez, who instead started with delineating characters in his music and then moving toward plot points and dramatic moments.

The composer's overall musical vision for the opera was an expansive one that featured both lush melodies indicative of the title, but also harsh and rhythmic dissonant sound realms that were more appropriate for an opera composed in the 21st century.

"I think you have to have a huge arsenal of tools to handle such a big work as this," Lopez noted.

Take his approach to the characters of Joachim Messner (performed by Jacques Imbrailo) and General Alfredo (Rafael Davila). The former is a member of the red cross and enters and exits the embassy constantly throughout the show while the other is the leader of the terrorists. While Messner was given a more "angelic" quality expressed by harps and a melismatic vocal line that harkens back to Gregorian chant, Alfredo gets "rhythmic writing and low strings and low brass to make him more of a menacing character."

Meanwhile, the opera singer Roxane (Danielle De Niese) is brought to life through more expansive brass writing.

"There are a lot of colors that you can bring from the orchestra to help portray the characters," Lopez explained.

Audiences got their first taste of the opera on Monday, Dec. 7 in Chicago and by all accounts, the opera was a riveting success. The New York Times called the opera "theatrically and musically effective" while the Chicago Tribune called it "an accomplished piece of work."

The composer and librettist also saw tremendous enthusiasm from the crowd.

"The feedback was very positive and we had a standing ovation. Everyone was very excited," Cruz stated. "You could see that the audience were intrigued and exhilarated."

"At the end, when the audience burst out into applause, I really felt that we had achieved what we set out to do," Lopez added. "I think we have a work that is relevant and has moved and touched people."

There are more performances for "Bel Canto" coming on Jan. 5, 8, 13, and 17. The first of those two will be recorded for eventual broadcast on PBS's "Great Performances" series.