Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Joyce DiDonato rolled around on the floor of the Folly Theater stage again on February 14, 2026. In a convincing portrayal of Emily Dickinson, DiDonato writhed, twitched and skipped amid a haunting representation of the poet’s room.
The Valentine’s Day outing for an audience of almost 1,000 was no less stunning than DiDonato’s physically strenuous 2022 presentation in the same venue. (I bought discounted tickets for the two best seats in the house for $43.50 apiece on Black Friday.)
Accompanied by Time For Three in a rendering of their new collaborative album Emily: No Prisoner Be, DiDonato made her operatic park-and-bark peers look like unfit dullards. A trailer about the project provides a concise explanation of composer Kevin Puts’ intent in scoring Dickenson’s poetry.
The Victorian undercurrent of "Because I could not stop for death" is among the Emily: No Prisoners Be selections that wouldn’t seem out of place on Wuthering Heights, the string-laden, occasionally quasi-classical new album by pop star Charlie XCX. It was even more alluring live.
The version of the title track concluding the concert was a dead ringer for a new-grass anthem by Nickel Creek, further proof that high art needn’t be or inaccessible That sensibility made DiDonato the There Stands the Glass 2022 Person of the Year. She’s now operating at an even more elevated level.