Heartbeat Opera’s VANESSA

Direct from the legendary Williamstown Theatre Festival—where it was praised as “top among” the festival’s “jewels” by The New York Times and named BEST OF 2025 by The Washington Post—Heartbeat Opera’s searing new adaptation of VANESSA makes its much-anticipated NYC premiere.

In Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Vanessa waits, along with her niece Erika and her mother the Baroness, in her shadowy estate for the arrival of her long-lost lover. When their visitor appears—though not as they expect—he launches the family into psychological turmoil, sends Erika spiraling, and unleashes a reckoning of desire, illusion, and longing.

Under the acclaimed direction of R.B. Schlather, VANESSA is “pared to its stark, chilling core” with Heartbeat Opera’s signature “laser-like approach” (Classical Voice North America). Dan Schlosberg’s “revelatory” (Seen and Heard International) and “meticulously distilled” (The Washington Post) new arrangement rekindles one of opera's greatest scores with a band of seven virtuosic instrumentalists, and Jacob Ashworth’s adaptation strips the story to five dynamic singers and “100 enthralling minutes” (The New York Times).

“★★★★★. VANESSA grabs the audience like a vise. Unforgettable, truly.” (New York Stage Review)

As part of Heartbeat Opera’s commitment to making the revelatory magic of opera more accessible, Pay-What-You-Want tickets are available at universe.com/vanessapwyw.

VANESSA was developed by Heartbeat Opera at Williamstown Theatre Festival as part of W71 in 2025.