Two Boys

Two Boys is an opera in two acts by American composer Nico Muhly, with an English-language libretto by American playwright Craig Lucas. The opera's story is based on real events in Manchester, England, in 2001 as described in a 2005 Vanity Fair article titled "You Want Me 2 Kill Him?"

Muhly's opera was first performed by the English National Opera (ENO) in London on 24 June 2011, directed by Bartlett Sher. It was performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in October and November 2013. The ENO and the Met shared the initial production costs.

Using the narrative structure of a police investigation into a violent crime, the opera explores the world of online relationships and chatrooms, and was billed by the ENO as "a cautionary tale of the dark side of the internet."

Nonesuch Records released the first recording of the piece, from the Metropolitan Opera production, in 2014.

Two Boys opened to mixed reviews from the British press. William Hartstone in the Daily Express called it "thoroughly modern opera, both disturbing and challenging". Edward Seckerson writing in The Independent praised the composition, libretto and staging, calling it "an auspicious operatic debut."

David Gillard writing in the Daily Mail, said, "A compelling opera for our time inspired by real-life internet crime," while conceding that the overall evening was "static". George Hall, writing in The Stage, praised the libretto, but called Muhly's music "a commonplace and ultimately thin soundtrack accompaniment".Rupert Christiansen, writing in The Daily Telegraph, described it as "a bit of a bore – dreary and earnest rather than moving and gripping, and smartly derivative rather than distinctively individual". He continued, "It sounds more intriguing than it is, because Muhly signally fails to build the narrative into a sound melodramatic structure. Although the opera isn't long, it seems so, plodding along without substantial contrast of pace or mood, and never reaching a satisfactory climax."

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