United States Prototype Festival 2026 [3] – Sarah Kirkland Snider, Hildegard: Soloists, NOVUS / Gabriel Crouch (conductor). Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, New York, 14.1.2026. (RP)
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s shimmering opera, Hildegard, is rooted in tradition, albeit her musical voice is fresh and distinct. In most ways, it is terra firma for Prototype’s audiences, presented in a regular theater a few blocks from Lincoln Center.
New York eagerly anticipated Hildegard, which had premiered over the summer at the LA Opera. (Click here for review.) Weeks before the festival opened, the New York run was moved to a larger venue due to the demand for tickets. It was the same production and cast as in Los Angeles except for the instrumental ensemble. In New York, NOVUS, Trinity Church’s excellent new music ensemble, a regular Prototype musical partner, performed, as opposed to members of the Orchestra of the LA Opera.
Snider, who wrote both the libretto and music for Hildegard, immersed herself in the world of the twelfth-century polymath Hildegard von Bingen for eight years. Her well-informed libretto is based on fact but is a fictionalized account of the extraordinary woman’s life. The salient points – her radical visions, defiance of authority, musical talents, knowledge of medicine and her ultimate, if wary, embrace by the church fathers, are all true.
Feminist and queer medieval scholars are intrigued by the possibility that Hildegard enjoyed a homoerotic relationship with her close friend and fellow nun, Richardis von Stade. The sexual nature of their relationship is a supposition but a major plot line in Snider’s libretto. Richardis’s rape by the monk Mechthild, her resultant pregnancy and her death after she attempted to induce an abortion by ingesting the herb tansy are fictional.
Elkhanah Pulitzer’s efficient and visually engaging production straddles reality and Eastern mysticism, with little overt Christian symbolism. The authority of the church is omnipresent, however, in the form of David Adam Moore’s benevolent but proud Abbot Cuno and Patrick Bessenbacher’s malevolent Mechthild. A central gilded structure, again inspired by Asian aesthetics, anchors the production.
Nuns, monks and priests wear traditional garb, except for Abbot Cuno, who is encased in an imposing, structured black robe. The fabric of the angels’ tunics was imprinted with musical notation and artwork from medieval illuminated manuscripts. Hildegard’s visions were revealed in detailed, complex projections that were as awe-inspiring as they were impenetrable. Most fabulous of all were the headpieces that the women wore when transported into communion with the Living Light, the realm of Hildegard’s divine visions.
Snider encased the drama in a luminous aura of scintillating orchestral color. Harp arpeggios lent a celestial overtone to scenes when spirituality dominated. There is an electronic component to the score, so voices were amplified, which added to the soundscape’s otherworldliness.
The story is compelling, and Snider’s libretto is cogent. She has set every syllable to music with precision and with an eye towards the greatest emotional impact. Words and music flow naturally, although there is not an abundance of melody. The cumulative effect commands attention for its beauty and emotional impact.
Nola Richardson created a Hildegard who was simultaneously mystical, devout and petulant. Her ethereal soprano expressed the mystic’s complex feelings with beauty and transfixing emotion. Mikaela Bennett has an extraordinarily expressive and complex mezzo-soprano voice, which grounded her Richardis von Stade with an appealing earthiness. Her stage presence is just as riveting, and the chemistry between Richardson and Bennett was convincing.
Blythe Gaissert was an imperious Margravine von Stade who sought to browbeat her daughter Richardis for the sake of family honor, not spiritual ends. Far more compassionate was Roy Hage’s Volmar, the priest who was Hildegard’s champion and advocate.
Hildegard protested that it was contrary to God’s will for them to be separated, but they were. Richardis died at the convent where she was abbess, not long after they were parted. Snider provided a more romantic and tragic ending.
Rick Perdian
Featured Image: Clockwise – Blythe Gaissert (Angel), Raha Mirzadegan (Angel), Nola Richardson (Hildegard) and Mikaela Bennett (Richardis) © Maria Baranova
Production:
Libretto – Sarah Kirkland Snider
Director – Elkhanah Pulitzer
Creative producer – Beth Morrison
Sets – Marsha Ginsberg
Costumes – Molly Irelan
Lighting – Pablo Santiago
Artwork & Projections – Deborah Johnson
Sound – Drew Sensue-Weinstein
Movement – Laurel Jenkins
Dramaturg – Annie Jin Wang
Cast:
Hildegard von Bingen – Nola Richardson
Richardis von Stade – Mikaela Bennett
Abbot Cuno – David Adam Moore
Volmar – Roy Hage
Gerta / Angel 1 – Raha Mirzadegan
Clementia / Margravine von Stade / Angel 2– Blythe Gaissert
Mechthild – Patrick Bessenbacher
Otto – Paul Chwe MinChul An
Faceless woman – Chloë Engel