'THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER'

For DESERT IN, a new series commissioned for the soon-to-launch streaming service operabox.tv, two established TV writer/producer/directors will lead a team of early-career playwrights to bring crisp storytelling and a TV-informed approach to opera for the first time. ...

Orlando was a deeply engaging, intriguing and thought-provoking exploration whose pondering, messages, striking soundscapes and visuals reverberated and lingered long after the curtain had closed. It is a highly ambitious undertaking but Neuwirth and her colleagues were up for the challenge. What is most exciting is what has now been established for a venue such as The Wiener Straatsoper as we move into a new decade of uncertain times when it is vital that radical expressions of art and activism...

'I am very optimistic about opera in America,' says OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca. 'When I entered the industry decades ago, new American operas were rarely commissioned or performed. Today, the flow of creativity from American composers, librettists, directors and designers has generated an American opera repertoire that spans the gamut of styles and subject matter.'...