Odyssey Opera And Boston Modern Orchestra Project to Present A Trio Of Monodramas

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera will present Mono E Mono, a dynamic concert of monodramas scored by some of the nation's most influential American composers. The performance will take place on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 8:00 p.m., at NEC's Jordan Hall, featuring the acclaimed BMOP and Odyssey Opera, as well as powerful solo performances by sopranos Julia Mintzer and Sarah Coburn and one of the world's most sought-after baritones Michael Chioldi, all led under the direction of Grammy Award-winning conductor Gil Rose.

The program begins with a work by the quintessential American composer, William Bolcom (b.1938) who masterfully blends diverse American music traditions such as jazz, ragtime, Broadway and folk songs with classical forms. His distinct American sound has garnered him an American National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Awards. Bolcom's opera, Medusa (2003), is a monodrama for dramatic soprano and string orchestra. He composed this extraordinary work with his longtime collaborator, the writer Arnold Weinstein. Weinstein came up with a libretto on the Medusa theme conveying her experience as the only mortal Gorgon. According to The New Criterion, "Bolcom and Weinstein don't take themselves too seriously. They are serious artists, all right: but they are free of pretentiousness, and they know that a little fun is part of art, even high art. Bolcom's score grips and startles and amuses throughout, qualifying as a triumph."

American composer Ronald Perera (1941-2023) provides a riveting character study in The White Whale (1981): a gripping monodrama for baritone and orchestra, based on the character Captain Ahab from Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. Well-known in the Bay State's music community, he taught at Smith College for 30 years. Among the finest combiners of words and music, Perera is recognized for his significant contributions to American music, particularly his skill in setting literary texts.