On March 21, the same day that George W. Bush said that U.S. troops would remain in Iraq at least through the end of his presidency, a group of fed-up soldiers’ wives came together. To end a seemingly never-ending war and their strategy, they decided to withhold sex until a truce was called. The women, of course, weren’t American or Iraqi but from Athens and Sparta. They appeared on the stage of the New York City Opera...

After gay composer Ned Rorem turned 80 back in 2003, he decided to try some things that he’d not done in a long time, like going into a bar. “Since I don’t drink or smoke anymore, I don’t know what to do in a bar,” says Rorem, who nevertheless went looking for distraction at the Townhouse, a sweaterbar on Manhattan’s upper east side. “I stayed for 28 seconds,” he says. That was long enough for a 38-year-old...

“Striking frogs and getting fairies ready!” It’s the first rehearsal for act one, scene one of “Sleeping Beauty,” and Basil Twist is telling the frogs how high to hop (and when to “strike,” or leave the stage) and the winged fairies how to glide through the air with grace. A crew of 12 young puppeteers does its best to make the creatures respond. Twist and his company have come to...

Picture the multitude of soldiers, horses and weapons that populated the recent blockbuster film “Troy.” Add in myriad satyrs, nymphs and fauns plus a score of ego-driven opera singers. Then squeeze them all onto a stage for four hours and you’ll begin to grasp the job of Francesca Zambello, who directed “Les Troyens” last year at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Zambello is an opera director. In other...

The increasing longevity of humans has advantages for composers. Because the music world gets obsessed with birthdays and anniversaries, composers who make it to age 70 and beyond can expect tribute concerts at least every five years, and heightened attention to their music in general. Performers and audiences are led to think, “There’s a living master in our midst we best pay attention.” Two who fit that bill are...

Composer Lou Harrison, who died in February at age 85, was sometimes called the Santa Claus of contemporary music. He certainly looked the part, with a big belly and a white mustache and beard.  The nickname was apt for other reasons as well: He was a joyous and generous man, and all his life he carried a big bag of toys. That’s what he called his many interests and pursuits. “From the start,” he often said, “I...

“I would like to think that I had a significant insight into the girls in Little Women because I wasn’t bound by gender roles. On the other hand maybe the answer is – I had two sisters and we grew up in the same house!” Out composer Mark Adamo’s triumphant hit opera  Little Women – with twenty-four productions in less than five years – has astounded critics and endeared audiences to...