“Let us not see witches in silly girls.”
So says Rebecca Nurse in the first act of Robert Ward’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning operatic adaptation of The Crucible, and for a moment the audience has a glimmer of hope. Her aria about waiting and trusting, sung with incredible genuineness by Michelle Mariposa, couldn’t help but stand out even when one knows what is going to happen.
And this piece, this production, is mesmerizing from the beginning. Francesca Zambello’s staging begins with a coven of witches cavorting around a smoking cauldron, setting the scene perfectly and creating an unforgettable image reminiscent of the final scene in Robert Eggers’ film The Witch. I half expected the girls to start levitating!
The first scene of the opera that follows is long, and completely worth every minute. Lauren Carroll as Abigail Williams led the cast’s success in her conniving, manipulative turn that had me not on her side at any point. Alexander McKissick as her uncle, Reverend Samuel Parris, was one of several stellar tenors in the cast, and his argument with Chandler Benn as Thomas Putnam was very compelling. Veronica Siebert as Betty Parris gave a harrowing performance, stirring in bed when those who have come to check on her start praying and singing a psalm, then eventually writhing and screaming in a way that could conceivably convince an exorcist.
Adding to this fire cast of a fire opera was Robert Frazier as Reverend Hale. He led the cast in the psalm toward the end of the scene, and if his presence alone didn’t win the audience over, his character’s later realization that Abigail is a fraud should have. He also stood out for his staunch bass voice when it felt like most of the men in this cast were tenors.
Speaking of the lower voices in the cast, Ryan McKinney and J’Nai Bridges as John and Elizabeth Proctor made a wonderful bass-baritone and mezzo pairing. We meet them before the first act ends. Bridges brought her powerful lower register to her questioning of Mary Warren, played by Kresley Figueroa. If the rest of the opera weren’t enough to convince you of its merit, Ward’s brilliance in making Mary a coloratura soprano shows it. There’s a certain innocence musically built in to roles like this with their high, fast singing, and that’s the impression Figueroa gives: her laser-focused runs showed the character’s panic at appropriate times, combined with some well-timed guttural screaming. She looked and sounded great, and I felt so bad for her character when she was pressured into renouncing her original story in the second act.
Opening the second act is a scene between John and Abigail in the woods in which she tries to convince him to leave with her. McKinney and Carroll showed some notably good stagecraft here in terms of their staging and acting, with Carroll also indulging in a low register not used in the rest of the opera. Unmoved by Abigail’s attempt at seduction, John declares he will not leave his wife, even if it means the court calls him a lecher.
Cue the courtroom scene, and nowhere is Ward’s favoring of the tenor voice more evident. In particular, Nicholas Huff as Giles Corey and Chauncey Parker as Judge Danforth stunned with their fabulous high tenor voices. It is here, too, that Carroll brought out how truly disturbing Abigail’s manipulation is. Figueroa as Mary shot off some excellent coloratura here before rejoining the clique of girls making accusations.
Finally, the harrowing jail scene. It is important to note here that Ronnita Miller gave a truly endearing performance throughout the opera as Tituba, an enslaved woman who clearly wants to be free and go home to Barbados, but gets entangled in the accusations of witchcraft. Even more than the rich vocal quality Miller brought to the role, her delivery of Tituba’s monologue in the jail scene helped bring the opera full circle, asserting that the Devil offers freedom, but if you accept his offer you’ll find out he lies.
Enter Bridges again, and one can only say that she is stalwart, beautiful, and a force to be reckoned with. At the prompting of Judge Danforth as well as Reverend Hale, Elizabeth tries to convince John to confess to witchcraft so that he will be spared the noose. At first it seems like he will, but after he only verbally confesses and refuses to sign his name, things take a turn. In the end, John does not confess and opts instead to join those who have been executed before him and die with a clear conscience. As Elizabeth puts it, “He has his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him.”
Beyond the amazing design, music direction, and performances, this production tells an important story that must be heeded. Abigail may be horrible in her manipulation, but if there’s one thing this story proves, it’s that the most terrifying villain isn’t the one maniacally cackling away or obviously trying to seduce you into doing what they want, but rather the one who thinks they are doing good, in this case by executing people they think are witches. One can only hope we remember this lesson against mob mentality and stop it from ever happening again.
Maggie Ramsey
The Crucible
Music by Robert Ward
Libretto by Bernard Stambler
Based on the play by Arthur Miller
Cast and Production Staff:
Elizabeth Proctor – J’Nai Bridges; John Proctor – Ryan McKinny; Abigail Williams – Lauren Carroll; Tituba – Ronnita Miller; Judge Danforth – Chauncey Parker; Reverend John Hale – Robert Frazier; Reverend Samuel Parris – Alexander McKissick; Rebecca Nurse – Michelle Mariposa; Francis Nurse – Atticus Rego; Ezekiel Cheever – Joshua Dennis; Giles Corey – Nicholas Huff; Mary Warren – Kresley Figueroa; Ann Putnam – Tiffany Choe; Thomas Putnam – Chandler Benn; Sarah Good/Ruth Putnam – Anneliese Klenetsky; Betty Parris – Veronica Siebert; Susanna Walcott – Alexandra Christoforakis
Washington National Opera Orchestra
Conductor – Robert Spano; Director – Francesca Zambello; Set Designer – Neil Patel; Original Lighting Designer – Mark McCullough; Lighting Designer – Jason Lynch; Costume Designer – Jessica Jahn; Sound Designer – Mark Rivet; Original Choreographer – Eric Sean Fogel; Assistant Director & Choreographer – Andrea Beasom; Surtitles – Corinne M. Hayes; Intimacy Coordinator – Lorraine Ressegger-Slone; Cover Conductor – William Long; Assistant Conductors – Michael Baitzer, Nicole Cloutier; Assistant Conductor/Diction Coach – Ken Weiss
The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, Washington, D.C., March 21, 2026
Top image: Villagers try to support Betty Parris (Veronica Siebert), who they fear is a victim of witchcraft
All photos by Scott Suchman