Curtis Opera Theatre: The Comet / Poppea

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’ 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 singers led by conductor Marc Lowenstein.

The Comet
GEORGE LEWIS, music
DOUGLAS KEARNEY, libretto
Adapted from the W.E.B. Du Bois short story The Comet

L’incoronazione di Poppea
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI, music
FRANCESCO BUSENELLO, libretto

The Comet will be performed in English with English supertitles.
L’incoronazione di Poppea will be performed in Italian with English supertitles.