The roaring silence.
Early reflections from a weekend of substantial premieres, and recommended musical events for the week ahead.
Fantastic to see coverage of Silent Light, the new opera by composer Paola Prestini and librettist Royce Vavrek, published this morning by the Observer. I’ve not had a chance to set down any of my own thoughts about this richly ambiguous, provocative, and heady experience, so it’s a relief to see a thoughtful, detailed review by Gabrielle Ferrari—I’d honestly begun to worry that this quite monumental undertaking might go without professional reflection. Read it here. (While I was typing these words, I learned that my friend and colleague Daniel Johnson has filed his review to Parterre… keep an eye out for that one, too.)
Part of the reason I haven’t been able to write anything down about Silent Light is that I’ve been busy since then—not least with a quick road trip to see The Listeners, the newest opera by composer Missy Mazzoli and the very busy Mr. Vavrek. This, too, was an extraordinary experience, one very much made possible by the magnanimous initative through which Opera Philadelphia made every seat in the house affordable to anyone and everyone.
The result was evident not only in figures attesting to the remarkably high number of first-time operagoers cited by executive director Anthony Roth Costanzo during the most charming, infectious welcoming speech I’ve ever witnessed, but also in the way those newcomers made their enthusiasm known boisterously—I’ve seldom felt such an electric charge in an opera house.
A snapshot I took during intermission underscores my feeling that the Academy of Music was the place to be on Sunday.
The Listeners is headed to Lyric Opera of Chicago in March… one hopes fervently that it might find its way here, as well. Despite bold and welcome moves into contemporary fare at the Metropolitan Opera – which currently is preparing its own eagerly anticipated Mazzoli & Vavrek creation, Lincoln in the Bardo – I miss very badly the days when New York City had two major full-time opera companies and a bevy of smaller options. Too many significant works still aren’t finding a stage in this city, and that’s a disappointing state of affairs.
Despite my trip home being delayed more than four hours, right now I’m contemplating trekking to Philadelphia again next month for another important and enticing operatic offering: the East Coast premiere of The Comet/Poppea, the intriguing conjunction of Claudio Monteverdi and George E. Lewis directed by Yuval Sharon for The Industry, AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company), and the Curtis School of Music Nov. 1–3.
According to The New York Times (gift link), this production will eventually make its way to NYC. But who wants to wait? Details and tickets here.
Closer to home, Mannes Opera will present the long-overdue local premiere of Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera, a comedy composed by David T. Little with a libretto by, yep, Royce Vavrek, sharing an unmissable opera-in-concert double bill with The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Rob Handel. Performances are on November 8 & 9 at The New School’s Tishman Auditorium, admission is free, and registration is open now, here.
I’m also overjoyed to note that Mannes Opera is collaborating with Beth Morrison Projects to mount a workshop performance of Hildegard, by composer Sarah Kirkland Snider – who devised her own libretto based on the writings of medieval composer and mystic Hildegard von Bingen – at The New School’s Arnhold Hall on May 9, 2025.
Finally, I would be entirely remiss were I not to mention one more auspicious premiere at The New School next May: Arturo O'Farrill will conduct the New School Studio Orchestra in the U.S. live premiere of Escalator Over the Hill, the fabled 1971 “Chronotransduction” by composer Carla Bley and poet Paul Haines, with Michael Mantler credited with “production and coordination.” The performance is scheduled for May 2 at 7:30pm in The New School’s Tishman Auditorium; admission is free and you can register now here.
Carla Bley’s essay “Accomplishing Escalator Over the Hill” is posted in full on Ethan Iverson’s o.g. website, Do the M@th, here—do your homework.
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
NOTAFLOF = no one turned away for lack of funds.
1
Either/Or
Miller Theatre, Columbia University
2960 Broadway; Upper West Side
Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 6pm; free admission
millertheatre.com
The intrepid new-music ensemble Either/Or returns to Miller Theatre for a casual free pop-up event featuring the New York premiere of L'Algérie, a substantial work composed by ensemble director Richard Carrick weaving together Arabic and Cantoral melodies of his maternal Algerian heritage.
Gabriel Kahane
Playwrights Horizons
416 W. 42nd St.; Midtown West
Tuesday, Oct. 1–Tuesday, Oct. 8, times vary; through Oct. 13; $53.50–$78.50
playwrightshorizons.org
A poetic observer of the human condition circa now with a post-Romantic ear, a cartographer’s attention to detail, and a knack for turning phrases at once catchy and profound, Gabriel Kahane settles into Playwrights Horizons to perform staged versions of two recent song cycles in alternation: Book of Travelers, his extraordinary diary of a coast-to-coast train trek, and Magnificent Bird, a collection of musical portraits from near the end of a yearlong retreat from the internet. (And mark your calendar now: Trinity Church Wall Street has announced the long-anticipated NYC premiere of emergency shelter intake form, the trenchant oratorio Kahane wrote for the Oregon Symphony, on Oct. 24 at 7pm; admission is free with an RSVP, which can be made here.)
Meredith Monk
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave.; Upper East Side
Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 7:30pm, Friday, Oct. 4 & Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8pm; $135–$185
armoryonpark.org
The esteemed singer, composer, choreographer, and all-around innovator Meredith Monk presents the North American premiere of Indra’s Net, an extensive work for her Vocal Ensemble with a 16-piece orchestra and eight additional vocalists. The third part of a trilogy begun with On Behalf of Nature and Cellular Songs, this new work is inspired by a Buddhist/Hindu legend, and is meant to illustrate the preciousness of interconnectedness. A performance on Oct. 6 at 3pm is sold out, but tickets may be released to a standby line one hour before the event.
2
Grounded
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center
70 Lincoln Center Plaza; Upper West Side
Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30pm, Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8pm; through Oct. 19; $35–$460
metopera.org
The Metropolitan Opera opens its 2024–25 season with the local premiere of Grounded, the new opera by composer Jeanine Tesori with a libretto by George Brant, based on his award-winning play. The excellent Canadian mezzo Emily D’Angelo portrays a military fighter pilot forced by unexpected pregnancy to transition to a ground-based drone unit. The play is a powerful meditation on modern warfare, with lines that practically sing off the page. Michael Mayer’s production involves extensive use of video screens – certainly appropriate given details of the story – and Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts all performances apart from Oct. 5, led by Steven Osgood. (The New York Times review of last year’s Washington National Opera premiere is here, and a discussion with Tesori and Brant about what’s been changed for the Met, also from the Times, is here.)
Matt Mitchell
Glass Box Theatre at The New School
55 W. 13th St.; Greenwich Village
Wednesday, Oct. 2–Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8:30pm; $20 cash only at the door
thestonenyc.com
Polymath pianist Matt Mitchell comes to The New School for a Stone residency that finds him mixing and matching with a gaggle of regular co-conspirators – saxophonist Tim Berne, guitarists Brandon Seabrook and Miles Okazaki, bassists Kim Cass and Chris Tordini, drummers Kate Gentile and Dan Weiss – in varying permutations.
3
Travis Laplante
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8pm; $30, advance $25, seniors and students $20
roulette.org
Improvising saxophonist and composer Travis Laplante celebrates the release of a sensational new album, The Golden Lock (covered here last Friday), joined by the superb ensemble employed on the recording: pianist Erika Dohi, harpist Charles Overton, bassist Lizzie Burns, and percussionist Eduardo Leandro. The program also includes the premiere performances of three new Laplante compositions: String Quartet No. 1, played by JACK Quartet; No Distance, featuring Sō Percussion; and A Room With No Walls, played by Laplante and Dohi.
5
Phill Niblock Forever: A Marathon Memorial Celebration
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Saturday, Oct. 5 at 12pm; free admission, donations encouraged
roulette.org
The late Phill Niblock was a celebrated experimental filmmaker, a vital concert curator and record label founder, and a composer who charged up a minimalist aesthetic for maximalist impact. This suitably extensive 12-hour memorial arranged by his partner, artist Katherine Liberovskaya, includes live performances by composers and sound artists on site and beamed in from points beyond; participants include Jim Staley, Shelley Hirsch, David Behrman, Tom Buckner, Yasunao Tone, Tom Hamilton, John King, Barbara Held, Dave Soldier, Thomas Lehn, William Hooker, David First, David Watson, Bob Bellerue, Katie Porter, Al Margolis, SEM Ensemble, and many more.
7
Ned Rothenberg
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Monday, Oct. 7 at 8pm; $30, advance $25, seniors and students $20
roulette.org
Versatile woodwind improviser, composer, and bandleader Ned Rothenberg introduces a new ensemble, Bucket Brigade, designed to juxtapose conducted improvisation with cued melodic material and solos. Featured in the leader’s starry band are keyboardist Craig Taborn, slide guitarist David Tronzo, fretless bassist Stomu Takeishi, tuba player Marcus Rojas, and drummer Billy Martin.
8
Marcos Balter
Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center
129 W. 67th St.; Upper West Side
Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 7:30pm; $30
kaufmanmusiccenter.org
Amazing things are threatening to fly under the radar at Merkin Hall just lately… and you don’t want to miss the incredible “Artist as Curator” program assembled by composer Marcos Balter. Cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Conor Hanick will play selections from Balter’s Three Enigmas, after which an all-star gaggle featuring Maria Chávez, Ikue Mori, Senem Pirler, and Gladstone Deluxe will join in for a live electroacoustic remix set.
More vital directories of new-music destinations:
Find even more events in Night After Night Watch: The Master List, here.
Photographs by Steve Smith, except where indicated.
Just want to say thanks for the service you do through your writing to the new music community!
Why the cage reference title?