The beginning of the school year at Juilliard brought a sense of newfound fervor to create art and to make up for the time that got stolen from us during 2020. I had the honor of making my Peter Jay Sharp Theater debut as “Momo” the personification of satire in the New York staging premiere of Luigi Rossi’s L’Orfeo. Hailed by the New York Times as part of The Best of Classical Music of 2021, my first plunge into early music has been an absolute pleasure.

The highlight of this production was unquestionably the people. The extraordinary cast of artists I have the privilege of calling friends, the passionate sensibility and mastery of Avi Stein, our music director and conductor, and the formidable leadership and genius of our director Mary Birnbaum.