'An American Soldier' and 'Les Fêtes de Thalie' Reviews: Modern Tragedy and Baroque Comedy at the Opera

With music by Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Hwang, an opera at New York’s Perelman Performing Arts Center about a viciously bullied Army private proved taut and haunting; uptown, Opera Lafayette’s production of Jean-Joseph Mouret’s 1714 work was a skillful, snappy delight.