“It’s serious, arch, wonderfully well written and worth your while to investigate..”

“interesting and potent theater”

“thanking you for the wonderful time we had at the Ben Franklin operas... your heart is wide and deep and present in your work..”

“a lusty revisionist extravaganza of epic sweep..grand passion and glitz..”

“an evening of extravagant delivery, movement and makeup...”

Many people ask us, “Why Mesopotamian?”

Mesopotamia was the Cradle of Civilization.

But allow us to use the word Mesopotamian more symbolically to mean all Ancient Civilizations and their grandeur.  And now, since it’s tied to the word Opera, let’s further let it mean all Pre-Industrial Civilizations.

Pre-Industrial puts us in mind of the Great Industrial Civilization in which we live.  Industrial forces are famous for destroying habitats and driving species to extinction while at the same time providing us with a far more egalitarian level of comfort and ease.   We are ambivalent.

Opera is pre-industrial, as is all unamplified singing.  Yet it has been successful in adapting industrial forces such as radio and recordings to maintain its status in the Industrial world.

Cradle is for a baby, a new being.   Opera needs new beings, especially new operas.

So, let Mesopotamian + civilization + cradle + opera = grand new operas sung in the pre-industrial mode aiming to challenge, to reconcile, to balance, to nurture and to heal our Industrial Civilization lest it sweep us, and our planet, away.