Susan Brodie

3 weeks 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.

2 months ago | 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.

Oct 9, 2024 | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

NEW YORK — Meredith Monk has been creating, performing in, and recording multi-disciplinary music-based performances for more than 60 years. A singer and composer, she has created instrumental and vocal music, films, installations, and operas. Signal works include Education of the Girlchild: An Opera (1973), Dolmen Music (1981, recording) Book of Days (1988, film), Atlas (1991, opera), and now Indra’s Net (2010-2021).

Sep 25, 2024 | classicalvoiceamerica.org | Susan Brodie

NEW YORK — Jess is a hotshot fighter pilot who flies bombing missions over Iraq during the Gulf War. Passionate and confident, she loves the feeling of soaring through the sky and striking a target, but from the pilot’s seat she is removed from the destruction she leaves behind. What happens when that ruin is brought into her clear view is the wrenching stuff of composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist George Brant’s Grounded, which opened the Metropolitan Opera’s new season Sept. 23.