Opera

Here, you’ll find content about theatrical pieces that tell their stories entirely through music. Consider starting with the Segal Center’s video of Contemporary Opera NYC: Talks with Artists and Producers or Kamala Sanakram’s essay about creating an opera on Zoom.

The Latest

We’re in Our (Black) Opera Era

Podcast

We’re in Our (Black) Opera Era

by Leticia Ridley, Jordan Ealey

31 January 2024

Beyond the 2 Percent—A Manifesto: Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers

Video

Beyond the 2 Percent—A Manifesto: Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers

Watch as the panel creates and signs a global manifesto demanding immediate change and decolonization in a still deeply entrenched patriarchal field.

Wednesday 7 February 2024

New York City

An Artist’s Take on Disability Creativity with David Salsbery Fry

Essay

An Artist’s Take on Disability Creativity with David Salsbery Fry

by Marianna Mott Newirth, Gregory Moomjy, David Salsbery Fry

22 February 2023

Beyond the 2 % – A Manifesto Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers Event Poster.

Beyond the 2 Percent—A Manifesto: Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers

Segal

Center

Video

Beyond the 2 Percent—A Manifesto: Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers

Watch as the panel creates and signs a global manifesto demanding immediate change and decolonization in a still deeply entrenched patriarchal field.

Wednesday 7 February 2024

New York City

Vienna Festwochen Festival and the Segal Center host a panel calling for action to address the devastating current state of representation when it comes to womxn composers in music spaces, especially in opera houses and in concert halls.

A promotional graphic for the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast.

We’re in Our (Black) Opera Era

Podcast

We’re in Our (Black) Opera Era

31 January 2024

In this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley talk about a filmed production of the opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

Two performers in extravagant costumes stand on either side of a performer with both arms extended at their side.

An Artist’s Take on Disability Creativity with David Salsbery Fry

Essay

An Artist’s Take on Disability Creativity with David Salsbery Fry

22 February 2023

David Salsbery Fry’s career in opera shifted dramatically when he publicly disclosed his disability in 2015. In this candid discussion with Marianna Mott Newirth and Gregory Moomjy, co-founders of New York City’s first disability-affirmative opera company, he details his experiences navigating an industry that has not made itself fully accessible or welcoming to artists with disabilities.

A large group of people are seated in front of a brick wall, facing the camera.

Disability Creativity in Opera

Essay

Disability Creativity in Opera

21 February 2023

Gregory Moomjy and Marianna Mott Newirth share their approach to creating disability-affirmative opera productions in which disability artistry flourishes.

What I Learned from Making an Opera on Zoom

Kamala

Sankaram

Essay

What I Learned from Making an Opera on Zoom

7 July 2020

Kamala Sankaram talks about the process of developing an opera on Zoom and shares advice based on what she and her team learned.

Don’t Wish, Do It Yourself

Shari

Caplan

Essay

Don’t Wish, Do It Yourself

Women Finding Their Power in Cendrillon

17 October 2019

Shari Caplan discusses Opera del West’s recent production of Cendrillon at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Anticolonial Creative Collaboration and the Development of Mirror Butterfly

Essay

Anticolonial Creative Collaboration and the Development of Mirror Butterfly

15 August 2019

Ben Barson and Gizelxanath Rodriguez, part of the Afro Yaqui Music Collective, talk about artivism—what it means, what it can look like—in relation to building a jazz opera with various communities around the world.

A performance of Atlantis: A Puppet Opera

The VORTEX

Video

A performance of Atlantis: A Puppet Opera

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 14 September 2018

Austin, TX, 2019

The VORTEX and Ethos in Austin, Texas presented Atlantis: A Puppet Opera—a new production of Chad Salvata’s epic story of the final days of Atlantis, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Friday 14 September at 9 p.m. EDT (New York) / 8 p.m. CDT(Chicago) / 6 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles).

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”

Podcast

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”

Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke

17 April 2018

Dr. Kevin Clarke of the Operetta Research Center introduces us to Weimar-era operetta, which pushed artistic and social boundaries and is finally enjoying an artistic and scholarly reappraisal after decades of neglect.

Actors stand in front of a collage of faces along the back wall of a theatre

The Art of Listening Is Political

Brendan

McCall

Essay

The Art of Listening Is Political

27 October 2017

In the fifth installment of this series, Brendan McCall reflects on the work of Norwegian American vocalist Kristin Norderval, and how her art transforms listening into a political act.

Ordinary Magic

Malesha

Taylor

Essay

Ordinary Magic

Where Hip-Hop Theatre Meets Opera

27 July 2017

Maelsha Taylor talks with Ise Lyfe and Gill Sotu about their spoken-word opera Ordinary Magic.

Requiem for a River

Miranda

Lakerveld

Essay

Requiem for a River

Operatic Reflections on the Euphrates

17 April 2017

In this second installment, opera director Miranda Lakerveld discusses opera Requiem for a River, which is about the Euphrates River and fuses sacred texts and traditional music from various countries in the Middle East.

Representation and 21st Century Responsibilities in the Performing Arts

Asia Society

Video

Representation and 21st Century Responsibilities in the Performing Arts

Friday 31 March 2017

Houston, TX, UNited States

Asia Society in Houston, Texas presented a panel discussion Representation and 21st Century Responsibilities in the Performing Arts livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 31 March at 8:00 p.m. EDT (New York) / 7:00 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5:00 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles).

Contemporary Opera NYC: Talks with Artists and Producers

Segal

Center

Video

Contemporary Opera NYC: Talks with Artists and Producers

Monday 28 November 2016

New York, NY, United States

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented Contemporary Opera NYC: Talks with Artists and Producers livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 28 November at 6:30 p.m. EST (New York) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 3:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 23:30 GMT-UTC (London). In Twitter, follow @HowlRoundTV and @segalcenter and use #howlround.

A Day with Robert Lepage/Canada

Segal

Center

Video

A Day with Robert Lepage/Canada

Monday 14 November 2016

New York, NY, United States

Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented the panel discussion A Day with Robert Lepage/Canada livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV at howlround.tv Monday 14 November at 7:00 p.m. EST (New York) / 4:00 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 6:00 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 11:00 p.m. GMT/UTC (London). Share your thoughts in Twitter with #howlround, and follow @HowlRoundTV for updates

Theatrical Reinvention

Essay

Theatrical Reinvention

A Conversation with John Doyle

10 November 2016

Donald Sanborn talks with director John Doyle about the differences between musical theatre and opera, and the power of seeing actors play instruments on stage.

A Conversation with Romeo Castellucci

Segal

Center

Video

A Conversation with Romeo Castellucci

Tuesday 27 September 2016

New York City, NY, United States

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented a conversation with Romeo Castellucci, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 27 September 2016 at 2 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York). Share your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram with #howlround.

Rolando Sanz Brings Andrew Lippa’s “Concept Opera” I Am Anne Hutchinson/ I Am Harvey Milk

Marcina

Zaccaria

Essay

Rolando Sanz Brings Andrew Lippa’s “Concept Opera” I Am Anne Hutchinson/ I Am Harvey Milk

16 June 2016

Marcina Zaccaria discusses Rolando Sanz’s role in producing and presenting the opera I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk by Andrew Lippa.

Who Comes for Fish? in Here Oceans Roar

Nelson

Gray

Essay

Who Comes for Fish? in Here Oceans Roar

An Amanuensis for the Ocean

18 April 2016

Nelson Gray discusses the inspiration for his opera Here Oceans Roar and advocates more art centered on climate change.

An Opera for Climate Change

Ian

Burton

Essay

An Opera for Climate Change

25 September 2015

Librettist Ian Burton discusses his process and inspiration for creating the text for Giorgio Battistelli’s opera CO2.

Art for All

Kelsey

May

Essay

Art for All

My First Experience with Opera

29 May 2015

College student Kelsey May describes attending an open dress rehearsal at Opera Grand Rapids, and how the experience opened her eyes to a new art form.

Octia of the Pink Ocean

The VORTEX

Video

Octia of the Pink Ocean

Saturday 23 August 2014

Austin, TX, United States

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented a performance of "Octia of the Pink Ocean", a cyber opera, llivestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 23 August at 6 p.m. PDT/ 8 p.m. CDT/ 9 p.m. EDT.

Bum Phillips All-American Opera at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club

La MaMa

Video

Bum Phillips All-American Opera at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club

Sunday 16 March 2014

New York, NY, United States

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York presented a performance of Bum Phillips All-American Opera by Monk Parrots livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 16 March at 11:30 a.m. PDT/ 1:30 p.m. CDT/ 2:30 p.m. EDT/ 18:30 GMT. In Twitter, use #howlround.

Poetic Drama, Guerilla Opera

Allison

Vanouse

Essay

Poetic Drama, Guerilla Opera

30 July 2013

Allison Vanousewrites about the premiere production of Adam Roberts' Giver of Light, an opera based on the life of the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi.