"Rasputin", an opera produced by Hamilton graduate Jay Reise '72, opened for its premiere performances at the award-winning and historic Helikon Opera House in Moscow October 1-5, 2008 with further performances scheduled January 28 – February 1, 2009. Described by the Washington Post as "a spellbinding, challenging and profoundly beautiful creation," a cast of Russian operatic superstars capture Riese’s music and libretto whose traditional tonality and atonal dissonance summon what Reise calls, "the brutal and chaotic new world of the 20th century." The opera, based on the infamous Grigory Rasputin, includes a set of gigantic Fabergé eggs, a "roller coaster of musical moods", and an awesome final scene full of executions, a berserk crowd, and a dissonant orchestra. Reise received his BA in English from Hamilton and went on to earn his master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. Reise, currently a Robert Weiss-Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, remains part of the Hamilton community as a volunteer for the Performing Arts Committee.
