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Billy Corgan Plots 30th Anniversary ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ Opera Concerts

As the Smashing Pumpkins' third album turns 30, Billy Corgan is teaming up with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a new series of performances.

30 years since the Smashing Pumpkins released Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, frontman Billy Corgan is reimagining the record for a series of opera performances. The arrangements and orchestrations for the production are being undertaken by Corgan and James Lowe to craft “a new commission inspired by one of the greatest alternative albums of all time.” According to a description of the event on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s website, Corgan and some unnamed special guests will team up with the Lyric Opera’s Orchestra and Chorus to offer a “completely new, sonic and visual experience” that provides the chance for fans hear the Smashing Pumpkins’ music “in a sumptuous new dimension.” The efforts of the band were rewarded at the time, with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness managing to become the Smashing Pumpkins’ first release to debut atop the Billboard 200 (despite the increased price resulting from its two-CD format).

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