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On September 15, 2024, Flagello's seventh and final opera Beyond the Horizon, based on Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning tragedy of the same name, was given its world premiere. With a libretto by the composer and Walter Simmons, the premiere was produced by the opera company Teatro Grattacielo in New York City. The leading roles were taken by tenor John Bellemer, soprano Sara Kennedy, and baritone John Robert Green; the conductor was Christian Capocaccia. The opera enjoyed a sold-out performance and was met by a 10-minute standing ovation. Completed in 1983, shortly before the composer fell victim to a complete neurological deterioration, the opera was orchestrated by the music editor and composer Anthony Sbordoni in 2004.
Writing in Opera Wire, David Salazar enthused that "The piece has a ton going for it," adding that it presents "the drama with razor-sharp clarity" and an "emotional intensity that doesn't relent for its duration." Eric Myers, writing in Opera, found the work "to be an American gem, filled with beauty and tension." Amanda Vaill described O'Neill as "the most operatic of American playwrights." She praised "Flagello's emotion-driven and melodic music" and "rich orchestral textures."
![]() In March 2025 the East Coast Contemporary Ballet presented an "Evening in Paris," with food and drink served by the costumed staff. The centerpiece of the evening was a new ballet set to Flagello's Lautrec, a work intended to evoke "La Belle Epoch." The two sold-out performances took place in Westport, Connecticut.
In December 2024 Flagello's tempestuous Concerto Sinfonico for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble was presented by the Ares Saxophone Quartet and the Rutgers Symphonic Winds at Rutgers University. The conductor was Todd Nichols. Critic David Hurwitz has asserted that the Concerto Sinfonico "has to be the best piece ever written for saxophone quartet and orchestra."
In November 2024 the young pianist Brian Berino presented Flagello's stormy and dramatic Sonata for Piano in Manila, the Philippines. He gave a brilliant performance of this enormously difficult work.
In November 2022 Flagello's stirring and inspiring Passion of Martin Luther King was performed at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The oratorio, scored for baritone soloist, chorus, and orchestra, is rapidly becoming a perennial favorite for annual celebrations of the martyred civil rights leader. At this performance the baritone soloist was Ricky Goodwyn, Jr., and the conductor was Benjamin Bergey.
In February 2019 the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia, conducted by George Manahan, performed A Goldoni Overture, Flagello's contribution to A Servant of Two Masters, an opera buffa by Giannini, who died before he could complete an overture for his last opera. Flagello's work captures the opera's witty and lyrical spirit.
In January 2019 The Manhattan School of Music Saxophone Quartet performed Flagello's virtuosic and moody Valse Noire for saxophone quartet. The work is a transcription of his Introduction and Scherzo for accordion.
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