Production
In early 1985, director Dario Argento was entrusted by Sferisterio di Macerata with a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, which was to be Argento's debut as an opera director. Argento's version would have included horrific overtones and gimmicks, such as devices in seats throughout the theatre that would release voltage during thunderstorm scenes. The theatre did not approve of Argento's ideas, leading him to eventually back out of the project. Further problems for Argento occurred when he and Daria Nicolodi were arrested for drug possession, after police had found hashish in their home. According to Michele Soavi, Argento spent two years working on the script for Opera, noting that early drafts "went beyond the limitations of gore which any country, apart from Japan, would have found unacceptable" and that early drafts of the film were "far too long and rather incomplete in certain areas." During pre-production, Argento learned of his father's death on April 19, 1987, after he had been suffering from a long illness.
Development of Opera was announced in mid-1986. Argento declared that the film would initially be shot at Teatro Carignano and star Giuliana De Sio, who was at the peak of her popularity in Italy following the release of Let's Hope It's a Girl. Neither plans materialized, with the film being shot at Teatro Regio in Parma and the lead being cast by the Spanish actress Cristina Marsillach. Argento had initially wanted Jennifer Connelly to play the role of Betty in the film, but changed his mind as he did not want comparisons between this film and Phenomena (1985). He then attempted to cast Mia Sara, the star of Legend (1985), but changed his mind when fashion designer Giorgio Armani suggested Marsillach. Much of the cast had previously worked with Argento, such as Barberini and Zinny appearing in Argento's productions of Demons, and Tassoni starring in Demons 2.
Filming began in April 1987. The film was Argento's most expensive to date, initially budgeted at 10 billion lire, but was later reduced to seven billion. The scene shot from the ravens point of view around the theatre cost 1 billion lire on its own. Initially, the film was to be produced by Goffredo Lombardo, the head of Titanus. A corporate split between Titanus away from distribution lead to a split in interest in backing the film. It was backed by the production company from Mario and Vittorio Cecchi Gori; the brothers had ties to Italy's national television network RAI, allowing them to organize a presale for the film that gave Argento a larger budget than he had usually worked with. Additional filming took place in Lugano, Switzerland with interiors shot at De Paolis Studios in Rome. Argento had written the role of Mara Cecova for Vanessa Redgrave, who dropped out shortly before production began, leading first to Nicolodi being cast in the part, then the character's role in the film being severely reduced. In the final film, Cecova is portrayed only through point-of-view camera shots and voiceover, and Nicolodi played Betty's agent Mira instead. On set, Alan Jones reported that Opera had been an "arduous 15 week shoot". Marsillach stated she received real burns from the multiple takes she needed during the scene where she is tied to a chair in a burning room.
