Director

### Event Description: The Comet / Poppea - Curtis Institute of Music

**Event:** The Comet / Poppea  
**Presented by:** Curtis Opera Theatre  
**Date:** November 1, 2024  
**Time:** 7:00 p.m.  
**Location:** 23rd Street Armory

**Overview:**
Curtis Opera Theatre proudly presents the East Coast premiere of "The Comet / Poppea," an innovative operatic production that intertwines two distinct yet thematically connected works. This unique performance juxtaposes George Lewis's "The Comet," based on W.E.B. Du Bois’s proto-Afrofuturist science fiction short story, with Claudio Monteverdi’s "L’incoronazione di Poppea," a hot-blooded political thriller from 1643.

**Concept and Direction:**
The production is directed and conceived by MacArthur Award-winner Yuval Sharon. The stage is designed as a turntable divided into two halves, allowing the two worlds to unfold simultaneously. The rotation of the stage creates a visual and sonic spiral, inviting audiences to experience associations, dissociations, collisions, and confluences.

**Musical Direction:**
The performance features a stellar cast of Curtis singers, led by conductor Marc Lowenstein, known for his genre-crossing conducting career.

**Program:**
- **The Comet**  
  - **Music:** George Lewis  
  - **Libretto:** Douglas Kearney  
  - **Language:** English (with English supertitles)  
  - **Adapted from:** W.E.B. Du Bois’s short story "The Comet"

- **L’incoronazione di Poppea**  
  - **Music:** Claudio Monteverdi  
  - **Libretto:** Francesco Busenello  
  - **Language:** Italian (with English supertitles)

**Additional Performances:**
- **Saturday, November 2, 2024:** 7:00 p.m.
- **Sunday, November 3, 2024:** 2:00 p.m.

**Subscription Information:**
Subscribe to the 2024-25 season to secure the best seats at the best prices.

**Special Thanks:**
This production is realized through a landmark partnership among organizations across the United States, produced by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Cath Brittan, The Industry, AMOC (American Modern Opera Company), and Curtis Institute of Music. Curtis’ Centennial Season is supported by various benefactors, including Derek and Sissela Bok, the Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

**Tickets:**
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Curtis Institute of Music website.

Join us for an unforgettable evening of operatic innovation and cultural transformation!

The Comet / Poppea

23rd Street Armory

### Event Description: The Comet / Poppea

**Event Title:** The Comet / Poppea

**Dates:** June 14 - June 23, 2024

**Venue:** WAREHOUSE at The Geffen Contemporary, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles  
**Address:** 152 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States

**Overview:**
The Comet / Poppea is a groundbreaking opera that intertwines two distinct narratives to explore themes of cultural transformation and double consciousness. This innovative production juxtaposes Claudio Monteverdi’s 1643 Italian opera *L’incoronazione di Poppea* with the world premiere of *The Comet*, based on W.E.B. Du Bois's 1924 science-fiction short story. 

**Concept and Direction:**
- **Composer:** George Lewis
- **Libretto:** Douglas Kearney
- **Director:** Yuval Sharon

**Featured Artists:**
- Anthony Roth Costanzo
- Davóne Tines
- Doug Balliet
- Miranda Cuckson
- Emi Ferguson
- Keir GoGwilt
- Coleman Itzkoff

**Production and Partnerships:**
Developed over six years, The Comet / Poppea is a collaborative effort produced by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Cath Brittan, in partnership with The Industry, AMOC (American Modern Opera Company), and the Curtis Institute of Music. The Comet, composed by George Lewis with a libretto by Douglas Kearney, is commissioned by AMOC.

**Performance Details:**
The opera is presented on a turntable stage divided into two halves, allowing the worlds of ancient Rome and 1920s New York City to unfold simultaneously. This unique staging creates a visual and sonic spiral, inviting audiences to experience the interplay of these two narratives. As the performance progresses, elements from each story begin to intersect, highlighting the dialogue between the works and their contemporary relevance.

**Public Talks:**
In addition to the performances, a series of public talks featuring members of the cast and creative team will be held during the show's run. More details will be announced.

**Tickets and Additional Information:**
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the [event website](https://www.moca.org/program/the-comet-poppea).

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Join us for this extraordinary event that challenges and redefines the boundaries of classical music and opera.

EPSG:4326

The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

The Comet / Poppea brings together seemingly disparate worlds connected by stories of cultural transformation. The work juxtaposes Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), an Italian opera from 1643 unfolding among the social divisions of ancient Rome; and the world premiere of The Comet, based on the 1924 science-fiction short story by sociologist and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois. Set in 1920s New York City, “The Comet” depicts a Black man and white woman as the only survivors after a comet hits Earth.

Museum of Contemporary Art

Human and animal worlds collide in Janáček’s enchanting, cinematic modern fable about a clever vixen who tries to outwit her captors. The production uses playful projections to transform singers into forest creatures, with hand-crafted animations that evoke the fable’s comic-strip origins.

The Cunning Little Vixen

Detroit Opera House

Legendary lovers, Orfeo and Euridice, face death and separation. They undertake a perilous journey from the underworld back to the world of the living. One rule must be followed: Orfeo cannot look at Euridice. His conviction falters, he turns …

This visually breath-taking new production will be directed by MacArthur Prize Winner Yuval Sharon. Starring tenor Rolando Villazón and featuring a new orchestration by Nico Muhly.

Orfeo

Santa Fe Opera

This brand-new production by Detroit Opera Artistic Director Yuval Sharon offers a fresh take on Mozart’s controversial comedy, where the role of Artificial Intelligence turns the tale into a futuristic experiment. Don Alfonso’s manipulations of the “emotions” of his robotic inventions (the lovers) become an obsessive quest to develop spiritual machines.

Yuval Sharon

Director

Events

Upcoming events

5 - 13 Apr, 2025

Cosi fan tutte · Detroit Opera

Past events

1 - 3 Nov, 2024

The Comet / Poppea · Curtis Institute of Music

14 - 23 Jun, 2024

The Comet / Poppea · AMOC / American Modern Opera Company

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