People are saying…
LESSON PLAN
Philosophical, hilarious, touching, and profoundly humane, Lesson Plan sparkles in musical playfulness and allusions…A delightful, thought-provoking evening, full of discovery, meaning, and, of course, the pure, liberating, boundary-smashing power and love of singing.
— Woman Around Town
On Site Opera earns its keep by adopting, playfully sending up, subverting, and finally embracing the conventions and limitations of Zoom-based performance....There’s a witty paradox to it all: by making the “mistakes” intentional, Peters, director Eric Einhorn, and their technical team both mock and transcend the medium.
— San Francisco Classical Voice
The 45-minute masterclass is filled with wonderful songs, and hilarious lyrics that point at the absurdity of opera tropes, fading stardom, learning to love teaching, and, of course, Zoom....the achievement of this production is a treat which music teachers (like me) have been dreaming about for years....Lesson Plan is wonderfully witty and plays into the unique auditorium that is a Zoom call, while still maintaining the heart and passion that we expect from the operatic tradition.
— No Proscenium
ROOTABAGA COUNTRY
A charming and challenging opera…Peters’ score is both tonal and melodic, filled with shifting rhythms and meter, and her libretto is both intelligible and singable, while moving the story ever forward. It is imaginatively scored for a small orchestra.
— Sarasota Observer
The Sarasota Opera and the Sarasota Youth Opera gave our city an enormous gift with the world premiere of “Rootabaga Country,” a lyrically powerful new opera...
The overall result of this world-class expertise was captivating, enhancing the somewhat zany libretto, inspired by the stories of iconic author Carl Sandburg in his 1922 “Rootabaga Stories” and skillfully adapted by composer and librettist Rachel Peters.
Frankly, performance at this level of creativity and expertise is an unfair challenge to the work of a music critic. We hope that this work, commissioned by Sarasota Opera, will find a place in the repertoire of many opera companies in this country and around the world.
— Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Peters served as librettist as well as composer for the opera, producing nine tight, short scenes running seventy minutes. A prolific composer of vocal music, Peters here produces a resolutely tonal but constantly inventive, melodic and voice-friendly score...Concise in scope and skillfully constructed, Companionship is a fresh presence on the regional opera scene, and should be a welcome and unique addition to the chamber opera repertoire.
— Texas Classical Review
COMPANIONSHIP
Peters’ music is a combination of jazz riffs and more lyrical passages, which more than once suggested the influence of George Gershwin. The text was wonderfully set by the composer, who served as her own librettist, and the words fit the musical lines extremely well for maximum comprehension.
— Opera News
Companionship received its world premiere from Fort Worth Opera last week, and it is easily the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen staged by the troupe…Lately, the new works showcased by Fort Worth Opera haven’t been afraid to go in odd and funny directions, and if it results in more shows like Companionship, I’m here for it.
— Fort Worth Weekly
The final source of excerpts wasn’t just conceived outside of the box – its engineer, the beguiling Rachel Peters, seems to have been born a plane trip away from it...The setup is so novel, and the work and performances in this case so terrific, it instigates an instant impatience for its premiere. Around the wit of the premise and action, the music is stirringly imaginative, modestly working its myriad wonders.
— The Column Online
We have no idea what the point of this opera is. — The Virginian-Pilot
THE WILD BEAST OF THE BUNGALOW
The Wild Beast of the Bungalow was a fun, dark satire of a young girl growing up…It was great to see opera about girlhood—just as it was great seeing opera made by a living composer—who was also female—conducted by a woman. It really drove home the whole advantage of having smaller companies to promote otherwise under-recognized voices.
— Surroundings
It was, frankly, spellbinding. Peters' music grabs you by the collar and demands your attention...Peters has lots to say and is not afraid to shift gears as she goes along.
— BroadwayWorld
Seriously the funniest opera I have ever heard. Truly Saturday Night Live funny!
— Indie Opera Podcast
Musically incoherent and narratively unfulfilling.
— Non-Alcoholic Beer Aficionado (on Instagram)
STEVE
Rachel J. Peters’s STEVE unfolded, next, with a winning Horatian humor, a mild, gentle and sympathetic mocking of human folly.
— Boston Musical Intelligencer
The show does contain some genuinely clever humor and the music is not unpleasant, but the effect of that “love duet” was enough to leave me severely disquieted.
— Schmopera
EVERYTHING COMES TO A HEAD
With sprightly music by Rachel J. Peters and a clever libretto by Margi Preus and Jean Sramek, the black comedy is dark but funny and provides a delightful bite-sized opera.
— Duluth News Tribune
The comedy Everything Comes to a Head from Minnesota’s Lyric Opera of the North seamlessly blends cartoon and live action with the insouciance of South Park.
— Houston Free Press
IF YOU CAN PROVE THAT I SHOULD SET YOU FREE
Peters achieved more of a coherent narrative by setting the spoken text above orchestral accompaniment. Excerpts from African American activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s 1866 speech “We Are All Bound Up Together” against musical settings of Alice Duer Miller’s satirical poetry sought to bring issues of racism within the suffrage movement to light.
— I Care If You Listen
Rachel Peters’ “If You Could Prove That I Should Set You Free” used sly humor and dance-able tunes to offset the strong words employed by her five women.
— The Daily Gazette
STRETCH (A FANTASIA)
“An inventive work, lyrical and stark at the same time."
— The New York Times
A characteristically handsome production from New Georges, made even lusher by romantic compositions for strings and electric typewriter.
— Time Out New York
…We are treated to quintet of bass, trumpet, two violins, and an IBM Selectric. (Note to orchestrators: this combination of instrumental voicings is surprisingly evocative and supple and it does very well at suggesting the jarring, irresistible world of the subconscious.)
— Boston Musical Intelligencer