Press - Thumbnails — David Hertzberg

A NEW OPERA, WELL-SUITED TO THE CATACOMBS OF BROOKLYN

Bruce Hodges | June 11, 2018

"To etch this fanciful yet disturbing story, Hertzberg has written some crystalline, ravishing textures, glistening with percussion.

But as the hour progressed, Hertzberg's shimmering score bloomed into passages of opulence that might have made Richard Strauss proud.

DAVID HERTZBERG'S ‘THE ROSE ELF’ IS MORBIDLY ENCHANTING

James Jorden | June 11, 2018

“...just about everything you want opera to be. The Rose Elf shocked, confounded, disturbed, and, in the end, exalted.

Composer and librettist David Hertzberg creates fantastical soundscapes deftly contrasting the human world—mostly harsh dissonances and startling aleatory noises—and the pantheistic sphere of the Elf, a mist of impressionistic shimmer. The nine-piece chamber orchestra at the far end of the corridor, fluidly conducted by Teddy Poll, conjured a vast range of textures and volumes.

Even more impressive was Hertzberg’s word setting, a fluid arioso style ranging from blunt single-note recitative for the brutal brother to wide-ranging melismas for the protean Elf.

…for the next project by the Rose Elf team, I’ll be ready to climb Mount Everest.”

CONCERT SERIES DEBUTS IN CATACOMBS OF BROOKLYN'S GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY TONIGHT

Jane Levere | June 6, 2018

The season opens tonight with the world premiere of a new chamber opera, The Rose Elf, by composer David Hertzberg, whose The Wake World recently received the “Best New Opera Award” from the Music Critics Association of North America.

A NIGHT OF OPERA IN GREEN-WOOD CEMETARY

Charlie Herman | June 6, 2018

On June 6, 2018, the opera, “The Rose Elf” by David Hertzberg will premiere in the cemetery’s catacombs which are usually closed to the general public.

NEW YORK OPERA FEST 2018 PREVIEW: DON'T MISS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF DAVID HERTZBERG'S 'THE ROSE ELF'

David Salazar | June 5, 2018

David Hertzberg is one of the great composers on the rise. He’s an award-winner that is slated for a major career in the opera world, which means that his upcoming work “The Rose Elf,” is a must-see for enthusiasts of new opera. And thanks to Unison Media, that production is a major part of this year’s New York Opera Fest experience.

DAVID HERTZBERG'S DARK CHAMBER OPERA OPENS JUNE 6

Damian Fowler | June 5, 2018

A new series of opera and chamber music opens June 6 with the world premiere of David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf.

The impressionistic piece is based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, in which a young woman mourns her murdered lover. The opera is staged in the catacombs at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn—a setting that is designed to enhance the dark theme of the story.

THE ROSE ELF: AN INTERVIEW WITH LIBRETTIST, COMPOSER DAVID HERTZBERG

Lauren Johnson | June 3, 2018

If you’ve yet to hear about New York Opera Fest, now is the time to tune in. Presented by Unison Media and Brooklyn’s famous Green-Wood Cemetery, The Angel’s Share concert series kicks off this week on June 6th with the world premiere of The Rose Elf, a new opera created by David Hertzberg, directed by R.B. Schlather, and starring award-winning mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey in the titular role.

IS OPERA DYING? NO, BUT THIS ONE IS STAGED AMONG THE DEAD

Arthur Lublow | June 1, 2018

A new series, opening with David Hertzberg’s “The Rose Elf,” will produce classical performances in the narrow catacomb at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

MUST-SEE CLASSICAL CONCERTS THIS JUNE

David Patrick Stearns | May 31, 2018

As perverse as it sounds in this first month of summer, the place to go for interesting new opera may well be underground — yes, in the kind of place dead people are buried. The increasingly acclaimed composer David Hertzberg, who tends to traffic in dreamy but dark-edge mythology, is following up the success of his opera The Wake World with an earlier work titled The Rose Elf, to be staged in a crypt catacombs of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery June 6, 8 and 10. After all, the subterranean venue has natural air conditioning that won’t destroy the ozone layer, and you’re sure to emerge with a heightened appreciation for all of the above-ground classical events that are happening in parks all around New York.

'ROSE' FROM THE DEAD: NEW OPERA DEBUTS BENEATH GREEN-WOOD CEMETARY

Adam Lucente | May 29, 2018

A haunting opera about murder, love, and a gender-fluid elf will have an extra-spooky premiere in the catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery on June 6. The show’s composer said the narrow, morbid environment will make attendees feel like they are trapped by the story and the powerful vocals.

“I love the claustrophobia of the catacombs,” said David Hertzberg. “It will try to make you feel like you’re being buried alive, but in a cool way.”

GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN | OPERA | THE ROSE ELF

David Hertzberg’s new chamber opera receives its first full performances in sepulchral surroundings. The amorous and the otherworldly intertwine in R. B. Schlather’s production, for which the mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey originated the title role.

TO DO: MAY 30 - JUNE 13, 2018

May 28, 2018

See The Rose Elf
Voices from the other side.
From the people who brought you the romantically creepy Crypt Sessions comes a new opera by David Hertzberg, performed in the catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery. The performance inaugurates a (literally) underground concert series, “The Angel’s Share.”
—J.D. Green-Wood Cemetery, June 6, 8, and 10.

SUMMER CLASSICAL MUSIC PREVIEW

Fergus McIntosh | May 21, 2018

And the idea of an underground venue takes on a new realism with the première of David Hertzberg’s opera “The Rose-Elf,” in the catacombs beneath Green-Wood Cemetery (starting on June 6).

UNISON MEDIA & GREEN-WOOD UNITE TO PRESENT THE ANGEL'S SHARE

Francisco Salazar | April 26, 2018

The season will open in June with a World Premiere of a new chamber opera, “The Rose Elf,” by David Hertzberg, whose “The Wake World” received the “Best New Opera Award” from the Music Critics Association of North America. “The Rose Elf” will be directed by R.B. Schlather, starring award-winning mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey.

GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY IS HOSTING A SERIES OF EERIE CONCERTS IN ITS CATACOMBS

Clayton Guse | April 26, 2018

Called The Angel's Share, the series is produced in conjunction with Unison Media, the same group that launched Crypt Sessions at the Church of the Intercession in Manhattan last year. During Green-Wood’s rendition, classical musicians will set up shop in the 19th century catacombs below the cemetery, providing more intimate performances than any other in the city. The series kicks off on June 6, 8 and 10 with the world premiere of “The Rose Elf,” a chamber opera from composer David Hertzberg and directed by R.B. Schlather.

DAVID HERTZBERG WINS THE MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA

Francisco Salazar | April 10, 2018

The Music Critics Association of North America is pleased to announce that its second annual award for Best New Opera has been given to composer David Hertzberg for “The Wake World.”

MCANA's SECOND ANNUAL BEST NEW OPERA AWARD GOES TO DAVID HERTZBERG'S THE WAKE WORLD

Opera News Desk | April 10, 2018

The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) is pleased to announce that its second annual award for Best New Opera has been given to composer David Hertzberg for The Wake World, which received its premiere on September 18, 2017, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia in a co-presentation with The Barnes Foundation. The award was created to honor musical and theatrical excellence in a fully staged opera that received its world premiere in North America during the preceding calendar year.

HERTZBERG WINS NEW OPERA HONOR FOR THE WAKE WORLD

James Bash | April 9, 2018

Described as “hallucinatory” and “psychedelic,” The Wake World cast a spell over audiences and critics last September when it received its premiere as part of Opera Philadelphia’s O17 Festival. Now the enigmatic and enchanting opera by David Hertzberg, who wrote the music and libretto, has captured the second MCANA Award for Best New Opera, presented by the Music Critics Association of North America. Established in 2016, the award recognizes musical and theatrical excellence at a time of heightened interest in presenting contemporary opera.

OPERA PHILADELPHIA AND DAVID HERTZBERG WIN 'BEST NEW OPERA' FOR O17 COMMISSION

Peter Dobrin | April 9, 2018

A new work premiered for Opera Philadelphia‘s inaugural festival has captured an honor for the company. The Wake World, with music and libretto by David Hertzberg and commissioned by Opera Philadelphia for its O17 debut at the Barnes Foundation in September, has won the best new opera award from the Music Critics Association of North America.

DAVID HERTZBERG SHORTLISTED FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

THE NEW PHILADELPHIA OPERA STORY

Lewis Whittington | January/February 2018

"The Wake World

Music and libretto by David Hertzberg

The premiere of The Wake World at the Barnes Foundation on Ben Franklin Parkway was on September 18. I saw the fifth performance on the final night of the festival, inventively staged by director RB Schlather on a runway that ran through the middle of the museum’s Annenberg Court. With a dizzying mash of characters portrayed by the chorus, it dealt with sex, love, torturous temptation, alienation, and dramatic (sur)realness. The music and libretto by Curtis graduate David Hertzberg concerns a central drama about Lola and a Fairy Prince, but is an untethered moveable feast of art rendered by the chorus in full-body color make-up and visual allusions from some of the pieces in the expressionist galleries.

Hertzberg’s score is a torrent of classical and abstract ideas that charge forward and backward, like a gushing orchestral stream, as his libretto unfolds in fragments of plot, character exposition, and enchanting imagery. American soprano Maeve Höglund was electrifying as the tortured Lola; mezzo Rihab Chaieb was fiery as her volatile Fairy Prince.

Best of all, it was a chance to see Opera Philadelphia’s brilliant Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden in front of her singers, conducting a thrilling score with a muscled sextet of violin, French horn, trumpet, piano, and percussion. It was indeed a high point of the festival. As the chorus moved around the crowd in the gallery, for a moment we heard each voice before they trailed, physically and aurally, back into an ensemble.”