Heartbeat Opera Brings Samuel Barber’s VANESSA To New York

Heartbeat Opera will present its adaptation of Vanessa in New York City from May 12 through May 31, 2026 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center.

The production arrives in New York following a critically praised run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where it marked the first opera staged in the festival’s 70-year history. The opera features music by Samuel Barber and an original libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti.

Heartbeat Opera’s version is adapted and music directed by Jacob Ashworth, with a new arrangement by Dan Schlosberg and direction by R.B. Schlather. The company’s production condenses the opera to five singers and a chamber ensemble of seven musicians, running approximately 100 minutes without intermission.

Three performers from the Williamstown production will reprise their roles: Inna Dukach as Vanessa, Joshua Jeremiah as the Doctor, and Mary Phillips as the Baroness. They are joined by Kelsey Lauritano as Erika and Frederick Ballentine as Anatol.

Premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958, Vanessa won the Pulitzer Prize in Music. The opera follows the title character, who waits with her niece Erika and her mother, the Baroness, for the return of a long-absent lover. When a visitor arrives, the family is drawn into emotional conflict and shifting relationships.

Heartbeat Opera’s staging aims to emphasize the psychological drama of the story through a pared-down production style. The New York engagement will include ten performances at Baruch Performing Arts Center, located at 55 Lexington Avenue.