Performing “Vanessa” is just what the Boston Symphony should be doing. But its concert staging came off as drab and ineffective.

The introduction of American composer Samuel Barber’s riveting first opera, “Vanessa,” was marked by uncommon splendor: It had its premiere by the venerable Metropolitan Opera in January 1958, won a ...

The opera of this year’s Spoleto Festival USA is Vanessa, an existential drama that follows its titular character through a harrowing journey of love, longing and loss. It’s historically important to ...

Nicole Heaston and Zoie Reams in “Vanessa” | Photo by William Struhs, Spoleto Festival USA. With a libretto by Spoleto Festival USA founder Gian Carlo Menotti, a new version of Samuel Barber’s ...

NORTH ADAMS — The team behind “Vanessa” said they hoped another character in this underperformed opera by Samuel Barber would come to the fore. With a large expressive sound that came out of nowhere, ...