Geoffrey McDonald News

On Site Opera's (OSO) new production of THE SECRET GARDENER--better known to Mozart aficionados as LA FINTA GIARDINIERA--debuts in New York, as part of the New York Opera Alliance's New York OperaFest, in Manhattan's Westside Community Garden on Thursday May 11 for three performances. It was created and produced in conjunction with the Atlanta Opera, which present it in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens next week, marking the start of a series of “beautiful friendships” for the spunky New York company, which is known for its unique, immersive, site-specific productions of often-unfamiliar works.

The Atlanta Opera closes its 2016-17 season with an outdoor production of Mozart's early opera The Secret Gardener (La Finta Giardiniera), a story of love, madness and redemption that plays out in a lush garden.

Known for staging “the ultimate in intimate productions” (The New York Times), On Site Opera (OSO) presents the U.S. premiere and new site-specific production of Darius Milhaud's La mère coupable (The Guilty Mother). For the premiere, OSO partners with the Darius Milhaud Society and the award-winning International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). The site-specific production celebrates the 125th birthday of Milhaud and is dedicated to Katharine Warne, composer and founder of the Darius Milhaud Society. La mère coupable also marks the completion of OSO's three-year Figaro Project, in which the company is staging lesser-known operatic adaptations of French playwright Beaumarchais' (1732-1799) famed trilogy of Figaro plays.

On Site Opera is excited to announce the appointment of its new Executive Director, Piper Gunnarson. A seasoned nonprofit arts administrator, Piper has extensive experience in theater administration for organizations spanning all manifestations of the art form, including classical plays, new work, musicals, and children's theater. 

Known for staging 'the ultimate in intimate productions' (The New York Times), On Site Opera (OSO) presents a trio of exciting new site-specific opera productions in 2017, beginning May 11-13 with Mozart's rarely-performed early opera The Secret Gardener (La finta giardiniera) at the West Side Community Garden.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (COP) announces a special music panel event "Composing Music in the 21st Century: Music Panel Discussion: How modern composers navigate the ever-changing economy of music."

Known for staging "the ultimate in intimate productions" (The New York Times), On Site Opera (OSO) will present a trio of exciting new site-specific opera productions in 2017.

Known for staging “the ultimate in intimate productions” (The New York Times), On Site Opera (OSO) announces the world premiere of Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt, a new site-specific opera for family audiences with music by John Musto and libretto by Eric Einhorn. Co-commissioned and co-produced with Lyric Opera of Chicago's Lyric Unlimited and Pittsburgh Opera, Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt is based on the real-life experiences of Rhoda Knight Kalt and her trips to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) with her grandfather Charles R. Knight, the famous naturalist artist who was commissioned to create paintings and sculptures of prehistoric creatures – many still on display at the AMNH today.

Known for staging 'the ultimate in intimate productions' (The New York Times), On Site Opera (OSO) announces the world premiere of Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt, a new site-specific opera for family audiences with music by John Musto and libretto by Eric Einhorn.

The Oakland Symphony and Music Director Michael Morgan open the 2016-2017 season with the return of charismatic baritone Hadleigh Adams singing Mahler's Ruckert Lieder and the debut of the Delphi Trio performing Paul Juon's  Episodes Concertantes Today, October 14, at 8 pm at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The program opens with Clark Suprynowicz's Red States, Blue States (2008) in recognition of the elections this November, and concludes with Elgar's In the South. 

National Sawdust embarks on its sophomore season with a fresh commitment to being a leading incubator of new work. This season National Sawdust presents or produces ten operatic projects.

On Site Opera is one of New York's most endearing little companies, under Artistic Director Eric Einhorn, frequently giving us a chance to hear unfamiliar works in congenial settings and get up close and personal with the performers. For its first benefit dinner, the company presented a double bill of LA MORT DE CLEOPATRE and MISS HAVISHAM'S WEDDING NIGHT, simply and surely directed by Einhorn, in a ballroom of the Harmonie Club on East 60th Street in New York.

The Oakland Symphony and Music Director Michael Morgan open the 2016-2017 season with the return of charismatic baritone Hadleigh Adams singing Mahler's Ruckert Lieder and the debut of the Delphi Trio performing Paul Juon's  Episodes Concertantes Friday, October 14, at 8 pm at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The program opens with Clark Suprynowicz's Red States, Blue States (2008) in recognition of the elections this November, and concludes with Elgar's In the South. 

Known for staging “the ultimate in intimate productions” (The New York Times), On Site Opera begins their sixth annual season on September 29-30 with an evening of powerful monodramas including Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night and Hector Berlioz's La Mort de Cléopâtre (The Death of Cleopatra) in the exquisite grand ballroom at The Harmonie Club. The evening stars soprano Leah Partridge as Miss Havisham and mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert as Cleopatra and features the string quintet SYBARITE5 at the center of a chamber orchestra. Conducted by OSO's Music Director, Geoffrey McDonald, and directed by the company's General & Artistic Director, Eric Einhorn, the site-specific production features lighting design by Shawn Kaufman and costume design by Fay Leshner. OSO invites audiences to join as Miss Havisham's wedding guests for the evening – there's champagne and cake for all!

“Bride's side or groom's? I'm Count Almaviva,” said the elegant actor as we entered what, we are told, is the Count's summer palace. “Bride's side or groom's?” says the seductive brunette in a bath towel, stepping out of the tub. She introduces herself as the Countess, Rosina. Upstairs, downstairs, in my lady's chamber (and the atrium), we are cordially invited to the world of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO--the name of the event as well as the opera--joining the Jack of all trades and the lovely Susanna, compliments of the ever-creative On Site Opera.

Although the solstice doesn't officially appear for another week or so, the summer opera clock is already ticking. There's a plethora of performances going on all over New York City, in addition to interesting, entertaining and fascinating productions that are just a hop, skip and jump away. Among them: Lincoln Center's Lincoln Center Festival and Mostly Mozart and On Site Opera's West Village venue, to the more bucolic realms of Bard SummerScape in Dutchess County (NY) for Mascagni and Caramoor in Katonah (NY) for Rossini and Beethoven.

On Site Opera (OSO) announces today that soprano Jeni Houser has been added to the cast of the North American premiere of Marcos Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro (1799).

Just four years into its existence, On Site Opera (OSO) has established itself as one of New York City's most imaginative, nimble opera companies by doing more than simply staging musically and dramatically rich works outside of the opera house.

Just four years into its existence, On Site Opera (OSO) has established itself as one of New York City's most imaginative, nimble opera companies by doing more than simply staging musically and dramatically rich works outside of the opera house. OSO's team of General & Artistic Director, Eric Einhorn, Music Director, Geoffrey McDonald, and Executive Director & Producer, Jessica Kiger have pushed the boundaries of operatic storytelling, producing operas in locations that allow singers and audiences alike to immerse themselves in the narrative. Reviewing the first chapter of The Figaro Project, in which OSO is staging lesser-known operatic adaptations of French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais' (1732-1799) famed trilogy of Figaro plays, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote, 'This visionary company could be on to something big.' He noted that the 'space proved ideal for the intrigues of the opera.' On Site Opera continues this ambitious three-year undertaking June 14-17, when it presents the North American premiere of Marcos Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro (1799). The production, presented in partnership with The New School's Mannes School of Music and The Portuguese Consulate in New York, will take place at 632 on Hudson, a stunning triplex in the West Village that will serve as Count Almaviva's summer palace. The Figaro Project will conclude with the U.S. premiere of Darius Milhaud's The Guilty Mother (1966) in the summer of 2017.

Pity the poor also-rans in operatic history: Leoncavallo's LA BOHEME and even Rossini's OTELLO are perhaps the most famous titles. Oh, yes: We mustn't forget Giovanni Paisiello's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA—not after hearing On Site Opera's production in New York last week, we can't. Downstairs, upstairs, in m'lady's library, On Site introduced much of its audience last week to an “alternative universe” version of the Almavivas and the wily barber, Figaro, in a BARBIERE composed decades before the familiar version by Rossini.