Missy Mazzoli’s ‘The Listeners’ portraying life in a cult gets U.S. premiere at Opera Philadelphia

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — “The Listeners,” a two-hour expose of cults and psychological manipulation, has been given its U.S. premiere on at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music. Composed by Missy Mazzoli to a libretto by Royce Vavrek, the work portrays a school teacher who hears an unknown low-pitched hum, is alienated from her husband and daughter and finds a group of similar people enthralled with a charismatic leader. Mazzoli says her research and creating “the Listeners” has made her more sympathetic to those looking for a sense of community. The opera will be repeated in Philadelphia on Friday and Sunday, and there will be five performances at the Lyric Opera of Chicago from March 30 to April 11.