(Illustration by Sarah Howell)
BY GEORGE LOOMIS [NY Sun, 6 December 2007]

When the composer Elliott Carter presented the world premiere of his first opera, the one-act "What Next?," at the Berlin Staatsoper in 1999, many critics were perplexed. Mr. Carter was 91 years old, had never written an opera, and was presenting his first with a literal bang — in the form of an automobile accident that started the show. So the question seemed to be, "what's next?"