The Comet / Poppea
Composed by GEORGE LEWIS
Libretto by DOUGLAS KEARNEY
Conceived & Directed by YUVAL SHARON
EAST COAST PREMIERE
November 2 & 3, 2024
The Curtis Music Institute
Curtis Opera Theatre
Curtis Opera Theatre launches the East Coast premiere of The Comet / Poppea, the MacArthur Award-winning composer George Lewis’ highly anticipated operatic setting of W.E.B. Du Bois’s proto-Afrofuturist science fiction short story, The Comet (1920), juxtaposed with Claudio Monteverdi’s hot-blooded political thriller, L’incoronazione di Poppea (1643). Presented on a turntable divided in two halves, these worlds unfold simultaneously, with the stage’s rotation creating a visual and sonic spiral for audiences—inviting associations, dissociations, collisions, and confluences. Directed and conceived by fellow MacArthur-winner Yuval Sharon, this innovative co-production features a stellar cast of Curtis and AMOC* singers led by conductor Marc Lowenstein.
Developed over six years, The Comet / Poppea is realized through a landmark partnership among smaller organizations across the United States, produced by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Cath Brittan, The Industry, AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company), and the Curtis Institute of Music.
The Comet, composed by George Lewis with Libretto by Douglas Kearney is commissioned by AMOC*.
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