Susan Brodie

1 week ago | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

BREAKING NEWS — David T. Little‘s What Belongs to You, based on the novel by Garth Greenwell, is the winner of the 2025 Award for Best New Opera conferred by the Music Critics Association of North America. The honor, which recognizes both musical and theatrical excellence, is given annually to an operatic world premiere presented in North America during the previous calendar year.

2 weeks ago | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

NEW YORK — On May 16, the New York Philharmonic offered a program of two romances born in the early 20th century: a contemporary song cycle based on the correspondence between two iconic American artists and a 1912 ballet score highlighting nymphs and shepherds from classical mythology. The repertoire provided the opportunity to luxuriate in work by two of America’s finest opera veterans, supported and surrounded by New York’s flagship orchestra in full fettle.

1 month ago | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

NEW YORK — After seven years of development, Experiments in Opera’s world premiere of Aaron Siegel and Mallory Catlett’s Rainbird in the black box theater at Mabou Mines in the East Village on April 16 was worth the wait. The intimate chamber opera built quietly to a searing end, propelled by a stunning text and supported by a spare but thoughtful score. A haunting meditation on death and community, the work delivers a gut punch without raising its voice.

Mar 8, 2025 | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

NEW YORK — Fifteen years after its Dallas premiere, Moby-Dick sailed onto the stage of the Metropolitan Opera on March 3 for the company’s reopening after the February hiatus. Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer’s adaptation of Herman Melville’s epic adventure novel retains the vigor and visual wonder of its first performances in Leonard Foglia’s inventive production. Melville’s novel came out in 1851 at the peak of the American whaling boom.

Nov 18, 2024 | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

NEW YORK — What is the connection between music and memory? This is the question posed by Lucidity, the new opera by Laura Kaminsky and David Cote commissioned by On Site Opera and premiered on Nov. 14 at the Abrons Arts Center. The intimate 90-minute, one-act work goes beyond this important research topic to explore deeper considerations of the lifelong cost of our decisions.