A premiere is always a gift to the attending public because of its novelty, regardless of the content and validity of the performance, but in the case of After Dinner Opera Company’s “Sacco and Vanzetti” an extra layer of glamour and interest was added, both because of the composers and the topic of the opera.

Yes, it’s composers and not composer, since the opera was started by the musician Marc Blitzstein and completed by Leonard J. Lehrman, who also conducted the orchestra at the performance. There were pleasant surprises mixed with a set of not-ideal choices that were presented to the audience, and that allowed for the performance to debut in a respectable manner. Let’s talk about the choices that could have been better first…