{"id":19882,"date":"2026-01-06T23:58:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/06\/beth-morrison-on-reshaping-the-boundaries-of-contemporary-opera\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T23:58:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:58:54","slug":"beth-morrison-on-reshaping-the-boundaries-of-contemporary-opera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/06\/beth-morrison-on-reshaping-the-boundaries-of-contemporary-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"Beth Morrison On Reshaping the Boundaries of Contemporary Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Prototype Festival brings together new works that reflect Beth Morrison Productions\u2019s long-standing commitment to innovation in opera and music theater. \u00a9 Douglas Mason<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Beth Morrison<\/a> earned her bachelor of music at Boston University and a master\u2019s of music at Arizona State University, she moved to New York City with limelight ambitions. What she encountered were like-minded creatives grousing about the entertainment industry\u2019s indifference, which she set out to remedy by earning an MFA in theater management\/producing at Yale School of Drama. Returning to New York in 2005, she set up Beth Morrison Productions and resumed grumbling over industry indifference.<\/p>\n

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Since then, BMP has become the country\u2019s premier hothouse for new opera, staging more than 50 productions, including Pulitzer Prize winners Angel\u2019s Bone<\/i> by Du Yun<\/a> and Royce Vavrek<\/a> and p r i s m<\/i> by Ellen Reid<\/a> and Roxie Perkins<\/a>. A Grammy nominee, BMP has four titles nominated for 2026, including Adoration<\/i> and Trade \/ Mary Motorhead<\/i>. Starting tomorrow, the company celebrates its quarter-century anniversary with the 2026 Prototype Festival<\/a>, which this year will mount six productions at venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan. \u201cI\u2019ve been working for this change,\u201d Morrison tells Observer. \u201cIt\u2019s why I got into what I do in the first place, to create this new kind of opera. And I think we\u2019ve done that. We have 15+ seasons in our history showing that, and we\u2019ve inspired others as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans will find inspiration in the BMP: Songbook Concert and Celebration<\/i> (Jan. 7-8), a performance pulling together their greatest hits, with 14 arias culled from the company\u2019s storied history and sung by the original artists. (If you can\u2019t make the show, pick up the album, a double-disc vinyl set featuring 60 arias. It goes well with the BMP Songbook Anthology<\/i>, a 500-page coffee table book celebrating the company\u2019s history.)<\/p>\n

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HILDEGARD<\/em> is the brainchild of composer Sarah Kirkland Snider. Production photos by Angel Origgi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Precipice<\/i> takes to the boards Jan. 8-11, the story of a young woman\u2019s struggle set against the epic backdrop of the mountainous West. Leaping from a tall cliff, she awakens mute in the wilderness, where she must fight to recover her voice. Set to Rima Fand<\/a>\u2019s folk-inspired score, Precipice<\/i> incorporates sounds from nature, singers, string quintet, piano and mandolin.<\/p>\n

Hildegard<\/i> makes its New York City premiere Jan. 9-11 and 14. This must-see opera by the incomparable composer Sarah Kirkland Snider<\/a> is named for the 12th-century German nun Hildegard of Bingen<\/a>, a mystic, visionary, writer, composer, philosopher and medical practitioner. The world premiere in Los Angeles last November drew superlative reviews on both coasts. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of her,\u201d Morrison said at the time. \u201cIt\u2019s been totally a labor of love. She loves Hildegard so much, the historical figure, and she\u2019s written such a beautiful piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t make it to Brooklyn, try Times Square on Jan. 11 for The All Sing: Hwael-R\u0101d (Whale-Road)<\/i> and join the choir for this world premiere choral work bridging the gap between humanity and our ocean-dwelling friends. \u201cIt\u2019s this goth-industrial music meets classical,\u201d is how Morrison describes the world premiere piece by composer Jens Ibsen<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ll have music up on the website, and anyone can download it and learn it and come and sing with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York premiere of the comedic post-rock opera What to Wear<\/i> (Jan. 15-18) by Michael Gordon<\/a> and the late avant-garde theater icon Richard Foreman<\/a> draws from the latter\u2019s original staging. A collaboration between BMP, BAM and Bang on a Can, this acerbic commentary on society\u2019s superficiality features a cameo by St. Vincent. \u201cAlready we\u2019re selling out and had to add a performance. It\u2019s going to be the hardest ticket to find. It\u2019s a huge lift because it\u2019s raising a lot of money in a short period of time to get it done, and it\u2019s a complicated production,\u201d says Morrison. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy and amazing, it reminds me of Einstein on the Beach<\/i>. It\u2019s a spectacular show, truly one to blow people\u2019s minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What to Wear<\/em> by Michael Gordon opens January 15. \u00a9 Douglas Mason<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Jan. 16-17, submerge yourself in Art Bath<\/i>, a cross-disciplinary experience highlighting female voices and genre-bending music and opera, theater, puppetry and visual art. Also not to be missed is Tiergarten<\/i> on Jan. 16, a Weimar cabaret in St. Paul\u2019s Episcopal Church on Carroll Street. Directed by Andrew Ousley<\/a>, it explores historical moments of societal madness, featuring music by Handel, Verdi, Dean Martin<\/a>, Max Richter<\/a>, William Byrd<\/a>, Brecht, Weill and songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show<\/i> in the form of opera, classical, jazz, ballet and burlesque.<\/p>\n

Over the years, BMP has expanded to a staff of 14 and launched its Next Gen program fostering emerging opera composers. From it, one is offered a commission for an evening-length work as well as a world premiere production. BMP\u2019s partnership with LA Opera has resulted in 17 shows in 10 years. The Prototype Festival has only been in existence for 15 years, relying mainly on the generosity of individual donors, including the Mellon Foundation, a major backer whose agreement with BMP runs out in 2028\u2014something that has sent Morrison scrambling.<\/p>\n

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HILDEGARD<\/em> had its world premiere in Los Angeles last November. Production photos by Angel Origgi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t replace it, what does that mean? What will the festival look like? That\u2019s our challenge now. I\u2019m someone who\u2019s a very pragmatic dreamer. I\u2019ve got a couple of big ideas that I\u2019m working on right now to bring a lot of partners together to create something larger than ourselves, exploring opportunities,\u201d she says, lamenting, like so many arts institutions, the loss of NEA money<\/a> after 560 grants totaling over $27 million were cut last May.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of foundations have left the arts that were really holding it together or have changed their priority in how they fund the arts. And a lot of individual donors who have propped up the non-profit performing arts for decades are aging out. A lot are dying, and there isn\u2019t anybody coming up and taking their place,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy, but it\u2019s never been easy. It\u2019s harder than it\u2019s ever been. We\u2019re announcing thirteen commissions over the next five years. It\u2019s a big campaign for us. We\u2019ve never done a campaign like this before, but it\u2019s exciting. There\u2019s a lot of amazing work being done here that people should feel good about. We\u2019re just trying to create a conversation about what opera can be in the 21st Century.\u201d<\/p>\n

More in performing arts<\/h5>\n

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