Opera

Three productions stretched the boundaries of the opera and the song cycle at this year's Prototype Festival.

One of the world's most prestigious music festivals goes online this year with 240 hours of diverse programming with the theme "The Music Must Go On."

David Hertzberg's hallucinatory choral fantasy based on an Aleister Crowley fairy tale makes a vividly imaginative statement even in an audio recording.

NYGASP's 'Mikado' is replete with clever updates, but its rich flowering of stage basics is what makes it a great Gilbert and Sullivan production.

In Heartbeat Opera's smartly staged and beautifully sung reimagining of Der Freischütz, the mystical story Weber adapted from a supernatural folk tale resettles comfortably in the American South.

This one-act opera dramatizes the genesis and composition of 'The Tale of Genji.' With emotionally penetrating music and glorious singing, On Site Opera's production has as much to say about our modern world as about ancient Japan.

Heartbeat Opera and Opera Lafayette have devised a superb staged production of the baroque oratorio 'La Susana,' retelling a biblical story of sexual harassment with love, humor, seductive grace, and wonderful music.

As operatic theater this staging of Janacek's song cycle by Ivo van Hove falls short. As an opportunity to hear great music performed with dedication and finesse by fine singers, I'll take it.

Philip Venables' opera based on Sarah Kane's last play, '4.48 Psychosis,' is a raw, energizing dive into the maelstrom of mental illness.

With standout voices and vivid numbers, perfectly comedic costumes and musical hijinks, Albert Bergeret's glorious staging made this 'Pirates' a joy from start to finish.