Anthony Minghella has joined forces with composer Osvaldo Golijov to direct a new work commissioned by New York's Metropolitan Opera. The filmmaker made his debut with the Metropolitan last year (06) directing a critically-acclaimed performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly.And Argentine-American Golijov insists he is looking forward to getting creative with Oscar winner Minghella.He says, "I only saw rehearsals of Butterfly, and I love his film work."The great fear when you work for an elephant like the Met, being there for the first time of course, is whether you can create poetry and emotion. He achieved that, and that gave me great hope that we can do something and not be crushed by the machinery."But Golijov refused to reveal the subject matter of the work, saying, "It's so fresh. What happens if we change our minds? "What we thought about is pretty huge. I don't know, because I still haven't written a single note - it might be one of those pieces that kind of writes itself."

Work on the opera is set to begin in September (07). It is hoped the work will debut in the 2011-2 season.