Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 November 8, 2012

Lovers are betrayed, society is scandalized and glasses are raised in Dave Malloy's electro-pop opera ripped from a slice of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace.' Beautiful, young, and pure as the driven snow, Natasha Rostova arrives in Moscow to await the return of her fiance from the front lines. When she falls under the spell of the city's most charming rogue, it is up to the disillusioned Pierre, a family friend, to pick up the pieces of her shattered reputation. Inspired by 'War and Peace,' Dave Malloy adapted a section of the book into a libretto, which he set to his original score that merges Russian folk and classical music with indie rock, electronica, and organ-influenced cadences. This radical spin on a classic story transforms Ars Nova's theater into a Moscow dining club: with no "stage," the musicians, performers and audience sit together at tables piled high with dumplings and vodka as the action unfolds throughout the space.