Opera Today had many wonderful things to say about the premiere of Lembit Beecher’s new opera about Alzheimer’s disease, Sky on Swings. Ms. Montalbano was mentioned in her role as a part of a quartet of Elders, which sings throughout the piece.

O18: Unsettling, Riveting Sky on Swings by James Sohre

September 23, 2018

The quartet of Elders (Veronica Chapman-Smith, Maren Montalbano, George Somerville, Frank Mitchell) were simply phenomenal in their concerted focus and execution. A Greek Chorus gone wrong, they prowled the stage like caged animals one moment and framed meaningful “still” stage pictures they next. They raged, they howled, they moaned, they stuttered, and they provided a disturbingly complex aural commentary and background for this tragic story.