A Streetcar Named Desire is an opera written by Andre Previn in 1995 based on the 1947 play by Tennessee Williams. The success of the production was largely due to the exceptional libretto byPhilip Littell which remained incredibly faithful to the original play’s text while distilling the storyline down to a more suitable form. Littell was born in New York in 1950 and moved to Los Angeles in1976 to begin a career as an actor. After roles in theatre and cabaret as actor director and singer-songwriter he turned to writing libretto with his breakthrough work The Dangerous Liaisons coming in 1994. He hasbeen in demand ever since working with a wide variety of American composers.
