The Listeners at Academy of Music

A thriller about the seductive power of cults and charismatic leaders from acclaimed collaborators Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek.

The Listeners is a new opera that examines the lengths to which we, as Americans, are willing to go to find a sense of place and purpose, and the way confident, charming leaders can exploit these needs to their own ends.

A middle-class mother (soprano Nicole Heaston) living in a southwestern U.S. suburb notices a “hum,” a high-frequency environmental noise that only a select few people, the "Listeners,” can hear. A community organization quickly forms to solve the mystery of the hum, but when the de facto leader (Kevin Burdette) suggests a spiritual significance, the meetings become increasingly cult-like. Is this community of “Listeners” on a collision course with destruction?

Three performances only: September 25, 27, and 29 at the Academy of Music.

American Premiere Music by Missy Mazzoli Libretto by Royce Vavrek Based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill Performed in English with English supertitles Part of the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival