THE LISTENERS World-Premiere Recording to Feature Lyric Opera of Chicago
Nicole Heaston stars as Claire Devon in Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's opera, led by Enrique Mazzola.
PENTATONE is set to release the world-premiere recording of THE LISTENERS, a new opera by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, performed by Lyric Opera of Chicago under Music Director Enrique Mazzola. The opera, based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill, centers on a community disrupted by an unexplained hum and features Nicole Heaston in the role of Claire Devon, a high school math teacher.
Drawing on distinctly American preoccupations, the work unfolds within a community bound together by circumstance and belief, shaped by the unsettling presence of an unexplained “hum” that blurs perception and reality. Through Mazzoli's richly textured orchestral writing and Vavrek's incisive dramaturgy, the opera becomes a powerful reflection on vulnerability, tenderness, rage and hope, all sung into existence with a haunting sense of optimism.
At its centre is Claire Devon, a high school math teacher portrayed with remarkable intensity by Nicole Heaston, whose collaboration with the composer shapes a character defined by curiosity, precision and uncompromising emotional depth. Her journey from isolation to reluctant authority exposes the human need for connection in a world where listening becomes both consolation and control, and where belief can quickly harden into collective illusion.
Mazzoli's expansive score, driven by large orchestral forces and a distinctive electronic “hum,” creates an immersive sonic landscape in which inner psychology and external reality continuously intersect, building towards a devastating reckoning in which voices reshape reality itself.
'I'm thrilled that the world premiere recording of The Listeners has been recorded by this superb cast and all the gifted people working at Lyric Opera of Chicago. I feel lucky to be able to write operas at this large scale, and particularly lucky to have the opportunity to write and record an opera with distinctly American preoccupations.
'I think of the cult at the center of The Listeners as a microcosm of our country, a group of people drawn together by circumstance, willing to lay bare their vulnerability, tenderness, rage, and hope, and singing it all into existence with heartbreaking optimism. In working with the brilliant soprano Nicole Heaston, we were able to create in Claire Devon not just a character discovering her own potential but a woman who questions nearly everything, with a fierceness and precision that only Nicole could deliver.'
'What a gift it is to preserve an opera through recording, especially one that captures the extraordinary artistry of Nicole Heaston and the cast of Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of The Listeners. I continue to be struck by how directly this opera has spoken to audiences. The vernacular libretto, paired with Missy's contemporary score, invites people to encounter truly modern and familiar characters on the grand opera stage, often for the first time.
'With this recording, we are able to extend that encounter, sharing the story of a suburban teacher who unwittingly is drawn into the clutches of a cult leader with a far wider world.'
'The Listeners deftly portrays interior worlds, dramatic human elements manifesting in part from Mazzoli's extensive use of the extreme colors in the orchestra... Above all, this opera, filled with spectacular moments of energy and expansion, raises important questions about our society, and provides a superb answer to why we must continue to produce work that speaks to the conversations of today.'
Enrique Mazzola, Music Director, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Tracklist
The Listeners (2022)
Commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, the Norwegian National Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago · Lyric Opera of Chicago Premiere
Disc 1 — Act I
1. Prologue, Part 1: 'This is how we live now.'
2. Prologue, Part 2: 'Do you hear it?'
3. Scene 1: Our Hackles at Full-Mast
4. Scene 1: 'For God's sake, Mom!'
5. Scene 2: 'Kyle, hang back a minute.'
6. Scene 2: 'Hey, get this, my mom is fing my uncle.'
7. Scene 2: Hortense's Confessional
8. Scene 3: 'You close?'
9. Scene 3: Bitch and Moan
10. Scene 4: Classroom Chaos
11. Scene 4: Vince's Confessional
12. Scene 5: 'I get the feeling they're fancy.'
13. Scene 5: Oversharing
14. Scene 5: 'He sounds a little too good to be true.'
15. Scene 5: The Hum
16. Scene 5: 'Yes. I've brought some literature.'
17. Scene 5: 'Do you hear it?'
18. Scene 6: Mailbox Fire
Disc 2 — Act II
1. Entr'acte: Angela's Confessional
2. Scene 1: I Built this For You
3. Scene 1: 'I'm not into this s.'
4. Scene 1: A Vice on Our Ears
5. Scene 1: Claire's Confessional
6. Scene 2: 'I have a bipolar relationship with the hum.'
7. Scene 2: 'I give my mind, my heart, my body to you.'
8. Scene 2: 'What is happening here?'
9. Scene 3: Dillon vs. the Tower
10. Scene 3: Newscast
11. Scene 4: Surrender
12. Scene 4: 'You don't make love to me like that anymore.'
13. Scene 4: He Built Nothing
14. Scene 4: 'See?! Look! He doesn't even hear it!'
15. Scene 4: 'Four are dead.'
16. Scene 4: Kyle's First Confessional
17. Epilogue
Founded in 1954, Lyric Opera of Chicago describes its mission around the transformational, revelatory power of great art and opera. Under the leadership of General Director John Mangum and the baton of Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric Opera of Chicago says it exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to the Chicago region and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form of opera.
THE LISTENERS marks another collaboration between Mazzoli and Vavrek, following their previous PENTATONE release, PROVING UP.
