The San Francisco Opera, in collaboration with the Welsh National Opera, presents an amazing double feature of the American premieres of two different adaptations of Poe’s haunting and horrifying “The Fall of the House of Usher.” One is in English by contemporary composer (and San Francisco citizen and philanthropist), Gordon Getty. The second is an unfinished work by Claude Debussy, reconstructed and orchestrated by Robert Orledge.

Let’s start with the simple observation that this is not traditional opera. The melodic content in both pieces is often atonal. To listeners accustomed to traditional, pre 20th-century, opera, the impression created might seem like endless recitative with no arias to speak of and an absence of memorable melodies. A lovely ballad in Getty’s version, “”Where Is My Lady and Where is She Gone,” is a startling exception, beautifully performed by tenor, Jason Bridges, in the role of Edgar Allan Poe.

Wait a minute? Poe is a character in this opera? Well, yes he is, in Getty’s version (not Debussy’s). Both librettos take, shall we say, great liberties with the story as Poe wrote it. This is inevitable. Poe’s masterpiece is large on mood and short on exposition. For theatrical purposes, a great deal of story has been added in both versions.

Musically, both operas are clearly of the the 20th century, although Getty’s version (which premiered in 2014) looks back to the music of the 19th century, whereas Debussy’s (originally composed around 1915 and reconstructed and orchestrated by Robert Orledge) looks forward to 20th century developments.

In both operas, audiences will be thrilled, in particular, by the complex and independent orchestrations, which support, challenge, interact with, and comment upon the vocal lines without mirroring or duplication.

Those vocal lines, again, in both operas, are striking for their conversational qualities. They do not repeat, much, but seem to be through composed (without repetition but continually developed) for the entire length of the operas....

In addition to the musical excellence and originality of this production, it includes a remarkable production design...