The invaluable OperaVision channel has made available a stream of Mazzoli's The Listeners, whose world première recently took place at the Norwegian Opera, in Oslo. My quick first impression is of a potent, chilling, and excruciatingly relevant work, perhaps comparable in impact to Kaija Saariaho's Innocence. The libretto is by Royce Vavrek, who also supplied the text for Mazzoli's first full-length opera, Breaking the Waves. Opera Philadelphia and the Lyric Opera of Chicago are the co-commissioners, and I look forward to seeing the opera live at one company or the other.
