Opera Ain’t Dead Yet: Hildegard, St. Vincent, & Salons at PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL Jan 7 - Jan 18
Mikaela Bennett as Richardis and Nola Richardson in the title role of Hildegard | Credit: Angel Origgi
Founded in 2006, Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) has been busy commissioning new contemporary works of opera over the years, unarguably a beacon of hope that proves opera is definitely not dying. This year is no exception with the continuation of PROTOTYPE - a festival in New York dedicated to new, innovative opera, originally co-founded by BMP and HERE Arts Center in 2013, now in its 13th edition of the festival, BMP continues on as the sole producer and presenter as the festival kicked off January 7th, running through January 18, 2026 with HILDEGARD, Art Bath, and What to Wear already sold out (sorry St. Vincent fans).
If you’re looking to broaden your opera horizons or you thrive on knowing what is new and upcoming with opera, the PROTOTYPE festival is certainly something you will have major fomo about if you do not attend at least one of its productions these next couple weeks.
To help you cure your fear of missing out, we’ve compiled the breakdown here for you from PROTOTYPE.
BMP: SONGBOOK CONCERT & CELEBRATION (WORLD PREMIERE | RETROSPECTIVE CONCERT
BETH MORRISON, CURATOR AND DIRECTOR
January 8th | 7:00PM - 8:30PM
A live performance and multi-faceted celebration marking two decades of trailblazing innovation in American opera. BMP: Songbook brings together artists who helped shape BMP’s legacy, performing highlights from their most iconic productions like Grammy nominated Black Lodge (David T. Little, Anne Waldman) featuring Timur, Dog Days (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek) featuring Lauren Worsham, and Prism (Ellen Reid, Roxie Perkins) featuring Rebecca Jo Loeb.
Songbook tickets here.
PRECIPICE (WORLD PREMIERE)
SUSAN ZEEMAN ROGERS, CONCEPT & PRODUCTION DESIGN
RIMA FAND, MUSIC
KAREN FISHER, LIBRETTO
January 8, 9, 10 | 8:00PM - 9:30PM
January 10, 11 | 2:00PM - 3:30PM
LA MAMA EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB
Precipice sets an intimate story of a young woman’s struggle in the epic landscape of America’s mountain west. Like the land around her, her wild spirit is crushed by disregard. She escapes to the precipice and leaps, awakening mute in a wilderness in which she must fight to find her voice.
The opera’s visual world is evoked by miniature dioramas and large-scale video. The score, inspired by American folk music, art song, and the sounds of nature, features seven singers, string quintet, piano and mandolin. By drawing parallels between environmental and emotional damage, Precipice looks at how we are silenced and exiled, and how we find our way to connection, both with each other and the natural world.
A talkback with the creative team will follow the Saturday, January 10, 2pm performance.
Livestream tickets for Precipice are also available here for January 10th at 2pm EST.
Precipice Live Show Tickets Here
HILDEGARD (NYC PREMIERE) - SOLD OUT
SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER, COMPOSER AND LIBRETTIST
January 9,10, 14 | 7:30PM - 10:10PM (SOLD OUT)
January 11 | 5:00PM - 7:40PM ** Members Night (SOLD OUT)
GERALD W. LYNCH THEATER AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE
HILDEGARD is a work of operatic historical fiction about twelfth-century German Benedictine abbess/polymath St. Hildegard von Bingen. Set in 1147, the opera follows Hildegard as she receives visions from God. While transcribing these visions for Papal evaluation – a process that will decide her prophet or heretic – she enlists the young convalescent Richardis von Stade to illustrate the manuscript. As they develop a transformative collaboration that awakens them in ways both profound and unexpected, the two women must confront the powers that would see them erased from history rather than authoring it. At the same time, Hildegard is haunted by mysterious visions she cannot explain, forcing her to grapple with unacknowledged truths she can no longer deny.
A talkback with the creative team will follow the Saturday, January 10, 7:30pm performance.
PROTOTYPE Members are invited to attend an exclusive HILDEGARD Member’s Night gathering on Sunday, January 11 at 4pm, an hour before the 5pm show.
HILDEGARD Tickets Here (SOLD OUT)
THE ALL SING: WHALE-ROAD (HWAEL-RĀD) (WORLD PREMIERE)
JENS IBSEN, MUSIC
JULIAN TALAMANTEZ BROLASKI, LIBRETTO
EDWIN OUTWATER, MUSIC DIRECTOR
January 11 | 2:00PM - 2:30PM
Admission is FREE.
The All Sing: Hwael-Rād (Whale-Road) is an ode to song and human-animal connection, uniting hundreds of voices in a vibrant tapestry of black metal blast beats and tender choral whalesong. From those who tread the boards of our most hallowed stages to those who love to belt in the shower, all are invited to join the choir for this world premiere choral work, and to raise their voices in a powerful communal experience, bridging the gap between humanity and those who dwell beneath the ocean’s depths.
WHAT TO WEAR (NYC PREMIERE) - SOLD OUT
RICHARD FOREMAN, LIBRETTIST
MICHAEL GORDON, COMPOSER
January 15, 16, 17 | 7:30PM - 8:45PM (SOLD OUT)
January 18 | 3:00PM - 4:15PM (SOLD OUT)
For the first time in 20 years, What to wear — the comedic post-rock opera by composer Michael Gordon and the late downtown theater renegade icon Richard Foreman — returns to the stage in its New York Premiere. The production brings back to life Foreman’s original staging and production, with creative direction by Big Dance Theater co-founders Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, with Special Guest Performer St. Vincent.
This bitingly funny post-rock opera offers a commentary on the superficial pressures of society, at a moment when our contemporary world of Instagram, fast fashion, and influencer culture render Foreman and Gordon's critiques more cutting and relevant than ever. A collaboration between PROTOTYPE, BAM, and Beth Morrison Projects in association with Bang on a Can, featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars, this historic re-staging honors Foreman’s legacy and confirms Gordon as a singular voice in contemporary music.
PROTOTYPE Members are invited to attend an exclusive “What to wear” Member’s Night on Friday, January 16 at 6:30pm, an hour before the 7:30pm show.
What to wear Tickets Here (SOLD OUT)
ART BATH (IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE SALON) - SOLD OUT
MARA DRISCOLL, CURATOR
LIZ YILMAZ, CURATOR
January 16, 17 | 8:00PM - 10:30PM (SOLD OUT)
Art Bath draws from the tradition of the art salon to create a multi-sensory artistic journey. Known for fusing disciplines such as opera, music, theater, puppetry, and visual art, ART BATH presents an eclectic range of world-class performers, unexpected collaborations, and the thrill of new work unfolding in real time—all in a space transformed to invite curiosity, connection, and creative surprise.
Art Bath's signature eclectic programming casts a spotlight on female voices and genre-bending music and opera.
Art Bath tickets here.
TIERGARTEN (UNDERGROUND CABARET)
ANDREW OUSLEY, WRITER AND DIRECTOR
KIM DAVID SMITH, MASTER OF CEREMONIES
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 | 5:30PM - 7:45PM (Sold Out)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 | 8:30PM - 10:45PM
THE ALLEY BEHIND ST. PAUL'S CARROLL STREET
Death of Classical's immersive, subversive, underground cabaret event takes its name from the Tiergarten—“The Garden of Beasts”—a sprawling central park in Berlin around which the murderous leaders of the Third Reich rose to power. Directed by Andrew Ousley, the program traces a path backwards in time, exploring historic moments of societal madness through music ranging from Handel and Verdi to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dean Martin to Max Richter, William Byrd to Brecht & Weill, with a panoply of performances that includes opera, classical, jazz, ballet, burlesque, and more.
Featuring Kim David Smith as Master of Ceremonies, Death of Classical's production takes audience members down an alleyway behind St. Paul's Carroll Street, transforming the church assembly hall into a 1920s Weimar Speakeasy, with food and drink included in the ticket price.
TIERGARTEN tickets here.
PROTOTYPE tickets have already gone FAST so get what is left while they are still here or wait until next year!
