2026 - 2027
Season

The Raven &

The Tell-Tale Heart

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Paul Herman

Librettist and Composer ​

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The Tell-Tale Heart

Paul Herman’s operatic adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart reimagines the story as a tense psychological drama centered on fixation, desire, and a rapidly deteriorating sense of reality. After unexpectedly witnessing an intimate encounter between a man and his lover, a young man becomes increasingly preoccupied with the couple and with the man’s unsettling gaze. Over successive nights, his secret observations intensify his emotional instability, leaving the source of his fascination deliberately uncertain. The tension ultimately erupts in violence, followed by a surreal confrontation in which guilt and perception become inseparable. As the young man’s mind unravels, Herman’s adaptation transforms Poe’s tale into a disturbing exploration of obsession, sexuality, fear, and self-destruction.

The Raven

Paul Herman’s operatic adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven expands the poem into a stark psychological drama of grief, hope, and damnation. Alone and consumed by sorrow over the death of Lenore, a man is startled by a mysterious tapping that draws him first to the door and then to the window, where a raven suddenly enters. At first, he welcomes the bird as an extraordinary visitor and clings to the possibility that it may be a divine messenger bearing news of his lost love. But hope gives way to terror as he becomes convinced that the raven has come not from Heaven, but from Hell, forcing him to confront the belief that his own soul is condemned. His mounting anguish turns to violence, culminating in a devastating final act as grief, fear, and despair overtake him completely.

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Friday, October 30th at 7:30 p.m. at Lang Lab​

Tickets available at the door