Opera Philadelphia Streams Missy Mazzoli's 'Breaking the Waves'
29th March 2017
Nicholas Korkos, Opera Philadelphia
David Shengold, Opera News
When Opera Philadelphia's commission from the creative team of composer Missy Mazzoli, librettist Royce Vavrek, and director James Darrah had its world premiere in September 2016, The New York Times declared Breaking the Waves "ambitious, accomplished, [and] dramatically direct" and Opera News said it "stands among the best 21st-century American operas yet produced." It has since earned an International Opera Award nomination for Best World Premiere and made its New York debut with Beth Morrison Projects' Prototype Festival to continued acclaim.
Now, starting on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, audiences the world over can listen to this spellbinding production in its entirety at operaphila.org/waves as the company unveils a free on-demand audio stream of the world premiere production that took the opera world by storm, capping off an online celebration in honor of Women's History Month.
The opera, a new adaptation of Lars von Trier's searing Oscar-nominated film, Breaking the Waves launched Opera Philadelphia's fall 2016-2017 season. It was a sensation. The Wall Street Journal called it "savage, heartbreaking and thoroughly original," and for Parterre Box, Breaking the Waves was, quite simply, "the most startling and moving new American opera in memory."
