projects
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS
AOP HAS DEVELOPED AND PRODUCED THE NEW CANON OF OPERA AND LYRIC THEATER.
Below are a sampling of works that were created by and in partnership with AOP.
premiered
ready for premiere
in development
aop tv
the post office
The ghost of Benjamin Franklin, the first US Postmaster General, is drawn into a thoroughly contemporary conflict among co-workers in a one-room post office about gay marriage, free speech, racial and class divides, and democracy itself.
Composer: Laura Kaminsky
Librettist: Elaine Sexton
Singers: Sarah Moulton Faux, Blythe Gaissert, Brian Jeffers, Michael Kelly, David Adam Moore, Markel Reed
Designers: Charles Renfro, Alex Knezo, Zach Lobel, Phillip Franck, Amanda Roberge.
Stage Director: Kevin Newbury
Pianist: Daniel Gortler
Stage and Production Managers: Yichun Li, Valos Lowe, Juliet Grace Grochowski
The riddle
THE RIDDLE examines the Biblical myth of Hagaar, Isaac and Sarah from tomorrow’s perspective: as the entitled inhabit space and a suffocating earth, what will the common man and woman do to survive.
Composer: Tamar Muskal
Librettist: Daniel Kramer
Singers: Devony Smith, Hila Plittman, Jason Zacher, Lucy Fitz Gibbon, Patrick Dailey, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Sam Rachmuth
Instrumentalists: Alexis Gerlach (Cello), Kenny Urban (Beatboxer), Shane Shanahan (Percussions), Chérie Roe (Piano/Coach), Julius Abrahams (Assistant Pianist), Tianhui Ng (Conductor/Coach)
Barcelona, map of shadows
12 short operas over four nights inspired and dedicated to the historic Hudson Guild Settlement community in Chelsea, Manhattan.
Composer: Mikael Karlsson
Librettist: Mallory Catlett
Based on a play by: Lluïsa Cunillé
Singers: Damian Norfleet, Patricia Schuman
Scenic Designer: Jim Findlay
Stage Director: Mallory Catlett
Conducter: Rebekah Heller
Video Designer: Bill Morrison
The Abbot Agathon
Composer: Arvo Pärt
AOP-comissioned English language singing translation: Cori Ellison
Text based on stories of the Desert Fathers of Egypt (4th-century). Published by Universal Edition.
Librettists: Peyton Marion, Troy Defour, Clare Fuyuko Bierman
Singer: Sarah Moulton Faux
Instrumentation: String Orchestra of Brooklyn
state of the jews
The first English opera about Theodor Herzl, State of the Jews interweaves the political turmoil of turn-of-the-twentieth-century Europe with the relatively unknown story of Theodor’s marriage.
Composer: Alex Weiser
Librettist: Ben Kaplan
Singers: Gideon Dabi, Kristin Gornstein, Andrew Morstein, Hans Tashjian
Instrumention: Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble
Conductor: Emily Senturia
Director: Omer Ben Seadia
Production and Lighting Design: Joe Beumer
Costume Design: Barbara Erin Delo
Presented in partnership with The Streicker Center.
one drop
ONE DROP is a new opera by composer Thomas Cabaniss, adapted from the 1931 Broadway play Brass Ankle by DuBose Heyward (Porgy and Bess, 1935). The action takes place in Rivertown, a village which is in process of becoming a town, situated on the edge of a swamp in the deep south. Time: 1931.
Composers: Thomas Cabaniss
Singers: Inna Dukach (Soprano), David Freides (Tenor), Dura Jun, Daniel Klein (Bass), Daniel McGrew (Tenor), Thomas Meglioranza (Baritone), David Adam Moore (Baritone), Skylar Ng, Pedro Sequera (Tenor), Philip Stoddard (Baritone)
Music Direction: David Rosenmeyer
Stage Direction: David Herskovits
One Drop is co-produced with Bare Opera:
house of legendary
HOUSE OF LEGENDARY is the story of a famed drag performer Dee Legendary as they embark on a passionate love affair with Officer John, whose fascination with Dee takes an unexpected and dangerous turn. A contemporary riff on La traviata, House of Legendary is an exploration of queer family set against the backdrop of NYC’s 1980s ballroom scene.
Composer: Jospeh. N. Rubinstein
Librettist: Jason Kim
Development Artists: Aaron-Casey Gould, Kemar Jewel, Michael Kuhn, Trevor Martin, Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Caroline Worra
THE GREAT DICTIONARY OF THE YIDDISH LANGUAGE
THE GREAT DICTIONARY OF THE YIDDISH LANGUAGE tells the tragi-comic story of Yiddish linguist Yudel Mark’s unfinished effort to create the first comprehensive Yiddish dictionary.
Composer: Alex Weiser
Librettist: Ben Kaplan
Stage Direction: Rebecca Miller Kratzer
Singers: Gideon Dabi, Kristin Gornstein, Kelly Guerra, Kate Maroney, Jason Weisinger
Designers: Michael Bennett Lewis (Scenic Design), Camilla Tassi (Projection design), Stacey Boggs (Lighting design), Matsy Stinson (Costume design)
Stage Manager: Sarah Herdrich
The climate opera PROJECT
THE CLIMATE OPERA PROJECT is a collection of four short operas celebrating Earth Day 2024 depicting unlikely heroes reeling from the cataclysm of human-influenced natural disasters. From a revengeful polar bear watching its home disappear to a water-stealing cactus, these operas tackle issues of the environment with humor and hope.
OLD KING TROUT: Music and libretto by Andrew Lynch
THE THIEVING CACTUS: Music by Gavin Knittle, Libretto by Ashton Tibbitt
POLAR: Music by William Barnett, Libretto by Fred Sauter
THE WATERING HOLE: Music by Willem Oosthuysen, Libretto by Tristen Mosoley
Performers: Sarah Moulton Faux, Melisa Bonetti, Esther Yi-An Tien, Jordan Rutter, Gideon Dabi, Laura Masferrer
Designers: Kristen Paige (Lighting Design), Josh Oberlander (Set Design), Amanda Roberge (Costume Design)
Stage Director: Sam Helfrich
Music Director: Jeremy Chan, Tyson Deaton
Additional Music & Opera Lab Director: Randall Eng