"This is a performance of what the composer Scott Wheeler believes to be the final version of his work The Construction of Boston. It is a sort of opera/masque/dramatic cantata. The text of the work is based on was written by the poet Kenneth Koch in 1962 (Koch referred to Wheeler’s piece as "a postmodern baroque opera"). Wheeler’s first setting was premiered in 1989 in a concert performance before being staged in a reduced format in 1990 (the Prologue was added for this staging). The first full staging was in February 2002, and it is this that represents the final version of the piece. …The piece addresses the problems that the construction of a city poses, especially in relation to the nature it replaces William Hite is a confident tenor lead, whether delivering the ruminations of the Prologue or the more lyric lines ("Bay, bay, you’re lucky," track 16, is a good case in point). Henry and Sam (taken by tenor Charles Blandy and baritone Marcus Deloach, respectively) are evenly matched and eloquent. Krista River has a strong, almost contralto-like low register; Sharla Nafziger sings the marvelously named Niki de St. Phalle, the bringer of beauty. And it is, indeed, the passages prefacing her entry and at that entrance itself, that Wheeler’s writing actually becomes identifiably beautiful (the silvery orchestration of track 20, "What this town needs is beauty," prepares us for Niki’s "I bring beauty and detail"). Diction throughout is exemplary from all concerned, including from the excellent chorus (for example the "Primeval Pastorale" and, later, at the brief chorus "She’ll shoot up the city"). Christopheren Nomura, as the "Populator" Rauschenberg, produces a lovely, rounded tone. Overall this is, in keeping with the spirit of the score, a most commendable ensemble effort. Colin Clarke - Fanfare - September 2008

"an engaging one-hour work, a thoroughly original libretto, and a polished performance. Carlton Wilkinson - New Music Connoisseur - December 2008