January 20, 2021
Michael Andor Brodeur
THE WASHINGTON POST – A strange package arrived on our doorstep last week. Strange because it didn’t contain masks, or disinfectant wipes, or even another jar of that chili-crisp paste we keep blowing through. It was a box of opera.
The Beauty That Still Remains: Diaries in Song is the latest experiment by the New York-based On Site Opera, a company that stays true to its name, even as it eschews that most foundational of operatic conventions: the stage.
It’s also the latest example of the many ways opera is reinventing itself amid a pandemic that kept houses shuttered for the better part of a year. Without audiences filling rows in real life, opera companies are experimenting with ways to keep fans engaged.