In 1963, Robert Silverberg published To See The Invisible Man, a dystopian short story in which an individual is punished for “the crime of coldness” by a judicially enforced loneliness, a subject which Emily Howard has turned into opera as an Aldeburgh Festival commission. While this production is strong and vibrant, Emily Howard’s opera itself is strong medicine, and can feel long. However, Howard confidently and consistently makes her music run hot and cold, and it’s a discomfiting, intriguing listen.
