Performer: James Marvel

Gotham Chamber Opera's current double bill of Bohuslav Martinů's Alexandre bis and Comedy on the Bridge prove that an opera company doesn’t need to be the biggest in town to be the most innovative.

Describing its new production of Francesco Cavalli’s 1668 opera Eliogabalo, the Gotham Chamber Opera compares the exploits of titular depraved Roman emperor Heliogabalus to Salome. There’s an obvious mistake here: Salome is an opera; Heliogabalus was a historical figure.