THE first-ever opera AT the legendary,
Tony Award-winning WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL MAKES ITS triumphant NYC DEBUT
VANESSA
A brand new 100-minute adaptation, sung in English
Composed by Samuel Barber
Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti
Adapted by Jacob Ashworth
Newly Arranged by Dan Schlosberg
Directed by R.B. Schlather
Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth
May 12-31, 2026
Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Entrance on 25th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues
Tickets will go on sale in January 2026
Samuel Barber is one of the most celebrated American composers of the twentieth century, and VANESSA was a hit upon arrival at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958, subsequently winning the Pulitzer Prize in Music. It could have remained in the canon as one of the great American operas, but its unique brand of gothic creep and fiercely emotional music clashed with the overly-academic tastes of the time. Over the following decades, the piece receded into near-obscurity. Together with director R.B. Schlather, Heartbeat Opera strips away the gewgaws and doilies of its original imaginings, allowing the riveting extremes of these palpable characters to break through. This reinvention, adapted by Jacob Ashworth with a new arrangement by Dan Schlosberg, pares the work down to five singers, hopelessly trapped inside their own circumstances.
Vanessa was developed by Heartbeat Opera
at Williamstown Theatre Festival as part of W71 in 2025.
“Chic…Top-Notch…100 enthralling minutes”
—The New York Times
“There are worries all around about the future of opera… But this Vanessa was a master class”
—THE WASHINGTON POST
“The indisputable artistic triumph of W71…
Vanessa grabs the audience like a vise.
Unforgettable, truly.”
—NEW YORK STAGE REVIEW
MISSED VANESSA AT WILLIAMSTOWN? CATCH UP WITH THESE supplemental interviews
Artist and opera director R.B. Schlather made his Heartbeat debut last summer with VANESSA—read our interview with him.
In conversation with Jacob Ashworth by Williamstown Theatre Festival
Select W71 Press
Full cast and creative team coming soon
MEET THE TEAM
R.B. Schlather
Director
R.B. Schlather is an American artist and opera director who has been praised for challenging norms and creating new and engaging experiences for audiences. In the 2024/25 season he returns to Oper Frankfurt for a premiere of Verdi’s Macbeth conducted by Thomas Guggeis and starring Nicholas Brownlee and Tamara Wilson. Previous productions for Oper Frankfurt include Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (2022, 2023), Cimarosa’s L’Italiana in Londra (2021, 2024) released on Blu-ray/DVD by Naxos, and Handel’s Tamerlano (2019, 2022). Schlather also directed Giulio Cesare as the second production of his Handel series in collaboration with Hudson Hall and early music band Ruckus.
Jacob Ashworth
Adapter, Music Director & Conductor (Artistic Director, Heartbeat Opera)
See full bio on our staff page here.
DAN SCHLOSBERG
New Arrangements (Music Director, Heartbeat Opera)
See full bio on our staff page here.
Our season is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council. Additional support is provided by a grant from Opera America. Heartbeat Opera is also proud to be supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
