The Perspective Collective invites you on a journey into some dark places through song and ‘opera.’ These include not only physical spaces, but the capacity for darkness within the self as well. Along the way we might encounter a dark forest, a prolific serial killer, a recluse trapped by unsettling visions, and a wanderer trying to escape haunting memories. At the end of the road, we may encounter the devil himself in Stephanie Leotsakos’s mini-opera adaptation of Young Goodman Brown.

Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, it is the tale of a pious villager in Puritan New England who ventures deep into the woods one night, and discovers a sinister secret that will call into question everything he believes in.

Join us – if you dare!

An extract from Young Goodman Brown sung by The Perspective Collective

about the company

Based in the New York/Philadelphia metropolitan area, the Perspective Collective is a group of classically inclined musicians dedicated to presenting performances of both new and seasoned works that tie into the events and sensitivities of our world today. For this performance, singers Rachael Basescu, Erin Brittain, Grant Mech and pianist Patrick Fink will be joined by California-based baritone Travis Sherwood.

Stephanie Leotsakos, the composer of Young Goodman Brown, holds degrees from Rutgers University and Princeton University. She currently serves on composition faculty at Wagner College on Staten Island, in New York City. In 2021, Stephanie founded the company GnotesbyStephanie, LLC that offers original research, music, and music-education resources to the public.