Opera L Archives on Clarence & Anita, June 8, 2011
"Music that is first rate and with performances which could be put in any of our important opera houses."
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Zachary Woolfe on Apollo & Dafne + Clarence & Anita, The New York Times, June 2011
"A charged, fascinating double bill" (starred listing)
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Gene Murrow in Early Music America, Fall 2011
"Innovation has been the guiding principle of Underworld Productions Opera."
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Allan Kozinn on Pygmalion, The New York Times, May 15, 2010 - "Inventive"
Ms. Crusco's elegantly simple staging of "Pygmalion" unfolded within spare sets by Hannah Black... [Nils Neubert's] attractive tenor, beautifully controlled vibrato and amusing, flexible portrayal of Pygmalion carried the evening. Casey Hutchinson gave an attractive account of Amour's music (and Diana's, in the "Hippolyte et Aricie" excerpt), and Paige Cutrona made the most of Céphise's brief moment in the spotlight.
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Leslie Kandell in Musical America, "2009: The Year in Music North America"
...offered by Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble, was Così fan tutte, in which several endings were presented, and the audience voted its choice by texting on cell phones at intermission.
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Karen McCally, Rochester Review, January-February 2011 -- "Opera in a Different Voice"
"Alternative" and "indie" are terms generally used in connection with popular music. But they might just as well be used in connection with opera-that is, if you're talking about Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble, founded and directed by Gina Crusco '77.
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Sam Perwin on UP's Cosi fan Tutte, OPERA NEWS ONLINE, July 2009 -- "Inspired."
[The staging] involved one of the funniest uses of Valium that I've seen in opera to date.

The standout was Casey Hutchinson's Despina, sung with a bright, silvery soprano and just the right amount of sass for this saucy servant. Elizabeth Bouk's raving Dorabella was another winner, sung with a milky, luscious mezzo... [Jeannie Im] showed her chops in Act II's "Per pietà," singing with gorgeous line and touching intensity.

The Madison Opera Blog -- March 18, 2009
This is genius! Underworld Productions in New York offers a Cosi for the American Idol-era.
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The New York Times

Page C1 -- May 16, 2009
In at least one case, mobile technology has been part of a director's message. Gina Crusco, the artistic director of the Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble, asked audience members at a recent production at Symphony Space in Manhattan to select which of the six main "Così Fan Tutte" characters should end up together.
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Classical Music, Opera listings -- April 24, 2009
In Ms. Crusco's abridged version, the score has been amended so that the men apologize first, with the women joining in after a few bars. And she will have the audience vote on how the couples pair off in the work's finale.
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Arts, Briefly -- March 26, 2009
In a sign of the times, even Mozart is now being updated for the "American Idol" age. A coming production of his opera... called "Così fan Tutte: Defining Women," will be performed by the Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble at Symphony Space on April 29 and 30, and it invites theatergoers to vote by sending text messages from their cell phones.
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The New York Post -- "Page Six" -- March 27, 2009
The opera ain't over until the audience texts.
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New York Magazine -- Approval Matrix - April 13, 2009
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Fractured Atlas blog -- Featured Member - May 14, 2009
Set aside all the stereotypes that you have about opera. New York City's Underworld Productions creates operas that speak to 21st-century audiences and demystifies opera so that all may enjoy it.
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Arts & Business Council -- Hot Pick -- March 12, 2009
Underworld Productions (UP) brings music to historically underserved populations and demystifies opera so all may enjoy it.
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The Y Arts page - Featured Artist
Ms. Crusco's versions of the operas communicate the original composers' intentions and make the operas her own.
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Manhattan Times - June 12, 2008
UP presented the self-translating Spanish/English opera Liv & Traco... The result was an overall understanding by the diverse audience.

Video of NoMAA grantees including Liv & Traco:
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