October 2023, Rodelinda, opera by G.F. Handel, commissioned by the historic Hudson Opera House

production R.B. Schlather, with Ruckus Early Music, Keely Futterer, Sun-Ly Pierce, Karim Sulayman, Brennan Hall, Teresa Buchholz, and Douglas Williams, lighting Masha Tsimring, lighting associate Vittoria Orlando, scenic associate Erica Zhang, dramaturge Joseph Cermatori, hair and makeup Matia Emsellem, supertitles Steven Jude Tietjen, assistant director, stage manager Emily Cuk, wardrobe Quinn Czejkowski, costume construction Gaby LaRoche, company manager Daniel Stermer, music preparation David Sytkowski, rehearsal photography Lauren Lancaster, production photography Matthew Placek, video production Jeremy Jacob, publicist Aleba Gartner, community partners Consigli Construction, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

“Hudson, N.Y., has the potential to become a Baroque opera destination” — NYTimes

“With smart direction by R.B. Schlather and excellent performances from the early-music group Ruckus, this is a “Rodelinda” worthy of a multiyear commitment to Handel.”

— NYTimes

“The creative team that put together a complete staging of Handel’s opera “Rodelinda” clearly has rock ‘n’ roll running through their veins. Not that this “Rodelinda” was some kind of reinvention or perversion of Handel’s original work - it stuck pretty close to what Handel envisioned. But what Schlather, the magnificent singer/actors, Ruckus, and the rest of the creative team did was invest their “Rodelinda” with a kind of punk aesthetic and dynamic that made the nearly three-hour performance feel urgent, contemporary, and incredibly fun…”

— Seth Rogovoy, “A Baroque Opera for the 21st Century”

“About 120 miles up the Hudson River from the Metropolitan Opera House, director R.B. Schlather is creating a local opera scene from the ground up…and his collaborators are pushing to give audiences a meaningful encounter with a medium that’s sometimes written off as inaccessible or antiquated. Above all, they want to display the things they love most about opera.”