It’s been two decades since the producer Beth Morrison began cultivating New American opera and music theater as Outsider Art—not that we’ve heard her position it that way. Per the Beth Morrison Projects (or BMP) Web site, what drives the firm is “a fierce commitment to leading the industry into the future” in support of “a new generation of talent … telling the stories of our time.” The PROTOTYPE Festival, which Morrison cofounded in 2013, is now a fixture, ushering in the new calendar year with her line of new wares. The 2026 edition showcases seven attractions in six Manhattan and Brooklyn venues—and for a change, there’s retrospection in the mix. The opening salvo, BMP: Songbook & Celebration, presents in concert form some 60 arias from as many BMP commissions (merch to include a book as well as a recording). A second look into the rear-view mirror brings the belated New York premiere of the 65-minute “comedic, post-rock opera” What To Wear by the Greenwich Village theater icon Richard Foreman, with music by Michael Gordon. (Progressive truffle hounds in Los Angeles recall not only the premiere in 2006 but also a revival 12 years ago. Jeff Favre of Backstage.com called it a “Mad Hatter’s tea party.”) The world premiere of Precipice revolves around a young woman in the Rockies for whom the landscape itself as well as her own spirit are “crushed by disregard.” Fresh from its recent premiere in L.A., Hildegard puts before us the 12-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen as she prepares written testimony of her visions for the Pope. We’re intrigued at the notion of The All Sing: Whale-Road (Hwael-Rād), which promises a communal mashup of “black metal blast beats and tender choral whalesong.” Singalongs encouraged. For further details and events, click through to PROTOTYPE with this caveat: the site takes the skills of Magellan to navigate. —Matthew Gurewitsch