Two Remain • Press Coverage
Critical Acclaim
“The music is powerfully raw, searing at times, but allows for moments of sweetness, making soulful use of probing clarinet and poignant violin. It’s a powerful and painfully beautiful work, and between Miller’s virtuosic chamber ensemble and Lynch’s impassioned, multi-dimensional embodiment of Zywulska, it’s hard to imagine a better performance.”
Opera News
“Depicting the Holocaust in the theater presents special challenges to audience members. Some may expect feelings of hopelessness, inevitability, and emotional exhaustion. American composer Jake Heggie’s Out of Darkness: Two Remain crafts a different experience. It reminds us that although countless stories emerged from that dark, dark chapter in world history, they often bring something richer, more nuanced, and more complicated.”
Atlanta Opera Blog
“This piece is perfect for its time - it is completely relevant to the world that we live in today and applies to many things. Heggie, Zvulun, and Scheer make a perfect combo with an all-star cast and crew and present a work prudent for today.”
Schmopera
“The two compact, distinct acts of Out of Darkness hit hard and cut deep. Even by the standards of tragic opera, it’s heavy and harrowing drama. Overall, the outstanding, collaborative production is a high benchmark, representing fantastic new engagement with important, groundbreaking contemporary work… Heggie’s beautiful score gives the words and actions a haunting sense of meditative interiority: We move dreamily between past and present, between anger and regret and a sense of release, and the music effectively guides and underscores these transitions. The sound is often fittingly somber — the show is overarched by a recurring, lilting minor key melody, often sung a cappella — but there are actually a number of moods depicted. Some recollections have an intriguingly jazzy edge to them, and the appealing “Golden Years,” beautifully rendered by Edquist, in which Manfred recalls the naughty and glamorous life of Berlin nightlife in the ’20s and ’30s, wouldn’t sound at all out of place in a Broadway musical.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Whether emulating folk-song and dance of Ashkenazic Jews, or the decadent atmosphere of a Berlin nightclub, or eerily adapting waltzes by Chopin and Johann Strauss into the sonic thread, Heggie’s music colors the drama and amplifies it. Out of Darkness: Two Remain proved an effective, well-crafted, emotionally complex evening of agitprop music theater that makes its poignant point to those interested and willing to be moved by its deeply heartfelt message.”
EarRelevant
“The story of two Holocaust survivors — one Jewish and one gay — is told with powerful theatrical strokes. This production is not always easy to watch; it is deeply emotional and deeply moving. It lingers with you long after the performance… Those are hallmarks of great art.”
ArtsATL
"Two Remain may well prove to be one of the most pleasant surprises among opera performances given in Melbourne this year and delivers considerable emotional punch. Heggie’s music is melodic and reflects the sound world of these stories. The music reinforces the action, whether gently lyrical or violent.”
Classic Melbourne
“Heggie’s score expertly shifted from haunting to at times playful when appropriate, while maintaining a tension that built to the devastating climax of the act. The score brought out Manfred’s poetic nature and the inevitable tragedy awaiting him. The orchestra did a wonderful job; they really brought out the variation in Heggie’s score from the darkest moments to the party atmosphere of a 1930s Berlin nightclub…a moving and relevant contemporary opera.”
ArtsHub
“Heggie finds snippets of joy in his score amongst the darkness and employs melodious approachability via an eclectic mix of Jewish folk songs, a couple of familiar waltzes, Berlin cabaret-esque and even the feel of a little wartime boogie woogie bringing to mind the Andrew Sisters. As one of the most prolific composers of opera in recent decades, it’s always welcome to see Heggie’s work staged locally. Two Remain proves relevant, is dense without overwhelming and touches with its pain, humanity and emotional complexity.”
Limelight Magazine