Rameau’s “Pygmalion” will be staged in June by On Site Opera, one of New York’s most original and enterprising companies. Once they choose an opera, they then select the ideal place to perform it. I very much enjoyed their Blue Monday by George Gershwin at the Cotton Club in Harlem.

This new production, presented by the innovative On Site Opera company and the Harlem Opera Theater, was performed at the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem where old-time jazzmen teamed up with an African- American cast of singers and dancers.

When the Met closes shop and the spring rains arrive, little New York opera companies pop up like mushrooms, some delicious, some deadly. Of their recent presentations, the most piquant was a collaboration between the newish On Site Opera…

The intimacy of the club and the immediacy of the drama created a truly riveting spectacle that brought the rare work to vibrant life.

Dancers choreographed by George Faison enhanced a seductive production staged by Eric Einhorn, On Site Opera’s artistic director, and attractively costumed by Candida K. Nichols.

This is a quick, thrilling ride in a time machine, and effective use of a performance space to create atmosphere and mood…another excellent argument for freeing opera from the constraints of the auditorium.