by Steven Pisano

(All photos by Steven Pisano.)

After an American premiere at Nashville Opera earlier this year, the provocative trio of one-act operas, Three Way, with music by Robert Paterson and libretto by David Cote, has come to the Fishman Space at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this week, presented by American Opera Projects and featuring the American Modern Ensemble conducted by Dean Williamson.

In "The Companion," a single woman, Maya (Danielle Pastin), grows bored with her android companion, Joe (Samuel Levine), who she leases as her lover. Joe can make love all night and is ever so attentive to her every need, complimenting her, cooking her favorite food. What more could any woman want? Well, Maya wants love. But for that, Joe's software must be updated, so call in the tech guy (Wes Mason). The results turn out to be not exactly what Maya had in mind.

by Steven Pisano

(All photos by Steven Pisano.)

The 9th annual Northside Festival, running through this Sunday, June 11, offers an eclectic mix of symposiums on technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, advertising, government, video, and other topics. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded people in myriad creative disciplines, Northside definitely has something for you.

Of course, there is an equally wide range of music, which kicked off at McCarren Park on Thursday night with Jay Som, Kamasi Washington, and Dirty Projectors. The audience in the park was smaller than last year's opener when Brian Wilson brought his Pet Sounds tour through the borough. But that was a special one-off.

Kamasi Washington's continuously inventive and forceful music is already on a level that brings to mind John Coltrane or Wynton Marsalis. His tenor sax doesn't have the unique signature that many other jazz greats have had, whereby you can hear a short phrase and know right away who's playing. But then, the most notable aspect of Kamasi Washington's music is that he eschews the soloist limelight.

Photo: Ken Howard

"This is a democracy! We are subject to the rule of law!" - The Trial

ST. LOUIS, MO - There's a shift happening in the way opera is presented in this country, where cities have begun to eschew the notion of a full fall-to-spring season in favor of a more compressed festival that lasts anywhere from two to eight weeks. What started out as a summer thing - Glimmerglass, Santa Fe - has now become the year-round standard everywhere from Philadelphia to Omaha. Which, contrary to what you might think, has encouraged bold programming and the commissioning of new works, alongside the usual dose of Puccini and Verdi.

Among this new breed of festivals, none has done more to promote more new - and particularly American opera - than the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Since its founding 41 years ago on a college campus ten miles southwest of the Gateway Arch, OTSL has presented 25 world premieres and 26 American premieres, including new works by Jack Perla, Terence Blanchard, and Ricky Ian Gordon, among others. Outside, it's a lovely, Glyndebourne-style setup (less the dinner jackets), with flower-filled gardens and wine and cheese served under candelabra-lit tents. Inside, there's an intimate, 900-seat theater with no less than the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in the pit. 

The standout offering of this summer's six week season is the U.S. premiere of Philip Glass' new opera The Trial, based on the Franz Kafka novel (with a libretto by Christopher Hampton.) I had the opportunity to attend a luncheon with Philip in New York a few months ago, where he spoke about why he chose The Trial for his 20th (!) opera, which premiered at Covent Garden in 2014. 

"It's about the corruption of democracy - need I say more? Aren't we living in the middle of that right now?"