Xbox as Time Machine: Exploring Ancient Egypt
An examination of the video game Assassin’s Creed: Origins, set in Ptolemaic Egypt, and how simply exploring the open world of the game can teach us about the historical era.
Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Forgotten Christmas Classic
Many Christmas traditions involve returning to familiar art, my argument as to how Henrik Ibsen’s iconic play deserves to be returned to again and again each Christmas season.
My review of the first season of The Gilded Age on HBO, exploring how the anglophilia of the show’s characters mirrors the anglophilia of its potential viewers, and what that means for the show’s future.
A Love Letter to Ariadne auf Naxos
A Love letter to one of my favorite works of art, Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and its message about the importance of both high art and low art in people’s lives.
Haydn is a figure more studied in music history classes than actually performed; I argue why this needs to change and why the world needs his charm now more than ever.
A Rake’s Progress Through Operatic History
One of history’s most unlikely cross-historical collaborations, how 18th century etchings turned into a 20th century opera, with text written by one of the twentieth century’s best poets.
Hearing an Old Myth in a New Form
Tony-award winning musical Hadestown, which takes the familiar myth of Orpheus and transfers it so convincingly to an American setting, and how this creates exciting possibilities for future works.
Striking the Right Note: Orchestras and the Pandemic
Orchestras struggled terribly during the pandemic, with its many limitations to public events. Why returning to older performance styles might be the key to orchestral resilience.
Once I get my actual website together, I’ll update this, in the mean time, if you are interested in my other writing or performing, please reach out!