Director

What do we do while we wait for the world to end? In a society at the height of decadence, where pop stars sing for despots’ birthdays, and even fools can be billionaires, it’s not only the prophets who are kept in cages. There’s one for each of us. In a decaying palace on the edge of the world, everyone is yearning for something to believe in. Sung in English to recapture the shock of Strauss’s scandalous classic, Heartbeat’s intimate new take features a fresh 10-instrument orchestration by Dan Schlosberg of one of Opera’s most extravagant scores.

Salome

The Space at Irondale

Our next chapter begins with two brand new radical adaptations and reorchestrations of major classics led by two fabulous new directors: Shadi Ghaheri directs a brand new adaptation of Puccini’s Tosca, set in a modern-day religious authoritarian dictatorship, and Emma Jaster directs Lady M, our twist on Verdi’s Scottish opera.
Lady M, based on Verdi’s Macbeth, is the culmination of our “brilliant” (New York Magazine) and “riveting” (Opera News) early pandemic venture, Lady M: An Online Fantasia, for which we sold out 32 online soirees, reaching over 1000 homes across 5 continents. Emma, who has been Heartbeat’s Movement Director on countless projects, including Lady M online, takes the reins to direct Ethan Heard and Jacob Ashworth’s co-adaptation, conjuring a bracingly contemporary couple as the Macbeths, along with a complete sonic and dramatic reimagining of the three witches.
Running on back-to-back nights in rep will be our newest adaptation of Tosca, a piece we've been dreaming about for years, led by Iranian-American director Shadi Ghaheri. Our version translates Puccini’s iconic story of love and revolution to an unnamed religious regime, where an uncensored version of Tosca — in which corrupt officials are murdered, revolutionaries are executed, and, most importantly, a female heroine interrupts the cycle of violence — would never be allowed to happen. Things become daringly real when a troop of actors decide to risk their lives to perform it.

Emma Jaster

Director

Events

Past events

4 - 16 Feb, 2025

Salome · Heartbeat Opera

11 - 23 Apr, 2023

Tosca & Lady M · Heartbeat Opera

About

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