Composer Mischa Salkind-Pearl and I collaborated on a chamber opera based on three short stories by Anton Chekov for the avant-garde opera company, Guerilla Opera. Check out an excerpt here!

This adaptation explores the eerie and not-often seen side of Chekhov and draws on his mastery of mystery and psychological drama. The storyline centers on two men alone in the woods keeping watch over an object shrouded in white linen. The two men may think they know each other, but their dynamic shifts between friendliness and rivalry as they navigate the tensions of man and nature, the known and the unknown. When a stranger finds them in the woods, their unease grows into confusion and terror.

As a work, this opera will be notably minimal in approach. The action will unfold in near real time over the course of a single act. This approach seeks to mimic, capture, and amplify the pacing and drama that defines Chekhov’s stories while also pushing against the bombast of opera to instead rely on the quiet and unnerving to compel and affect.

Press: Boston Classical Review