Opera

How often does a student opera company get to stage the U.S. premiere of a work by a major 20th-century composer? Mannes Opera has done just that with Erich Wolfgang Korngold's 'The Silent Serenade'

This isn't your great-great-grandparents' Massenet. But I'll bet they would have liked it, and I'll bet even opera purists and snobs will appreciate what Heartbeat and Co. have done here.

The cast's many company veterans play off of one another with frankness and ease in the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' latest staging of the classic light opera.

A new opera based on the life of the 12th-century Benedictine nun and visionary is one of the most enthralling theatrical experiences I can remember.

To "get" a parody, you have to be familiar with what's being parodied, right?Usually. The annual drag shows from Heartbeat Opera are exceptions – hilarious, harmonious, happy ones. This year's extravaganza will cruise on camp, costumes, and kookiness right into your crooked little heart.

This hard-to-categorize show employs an innovative technology called the "BodyMouth" in a dance-theater-opera performance that references mythological female forest creatures from Balkan folklore, commenting on the othering and suppression of women and the female voice.

"We couldn't do this show in some places. Even opera, with some people not wanting to perform 'The Marriage of Figaro!'…But we're thankful that we're here in New York and for the moment we're able to do this in its full glory."

Aucoin's vision asserts itself from the first touch of the first movement's mysterious music, with fluttering melodies from angsty high-pitched woodwinds and metallic percussion strokes.

This production provides an excellent introduction to the Vienna-born composer for those who aren't familiar with him – a group that may include many opera fans.

A gripping, innovative production, reduced to two hours but still full of Gounod's glorious music, boasts a terrific cast and smart, sinewy staging.