FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

Brooklyn, NY — American Opera Projects announces The Woodlawn Operas, a live performance of three thirty-minute World Premiere operas, to be performed on on May 16 & 17 at at the African Grove Theatre in NYU's Paulson Center (181 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012) at 7:30 PM and on May 20 at the historic Woolworth Chapel in Woodlawn Cemetery (3800 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467) at 7:00 PM.

The operas are inspired by the rich legacy and restless spirits of Woodlawn Cemetery, featuring stories of: Bert Savoy (1873-1923), a trailblazing drag performer; contemporary artist Patricia Cronin’s marble monument, Memorial to a Marriage, intended to be her final resting place; and a conversation among the artist spirts Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973) and Alexander Archipenko (1908-1964). 

The works featured were created by Andi Lee Carter, Kat Cartusciello, Jessica Field, Andy Li, Sravya Saraswatula, and Ziyan Yang.

The Woodlawn Operas will be performed by Lindell O. Carter, Kelly Glyptis, Yoojin Lee, Ilene Pabon, Eliam Ramos, and Gileann Tan, and will be supported on piano by Music Director Chérie Roe.

https://shorturl.at/cdoFf - Tickets for the African Grove Theatre May 16 & 17

The Woodlawn Operas

AOP-NYU/TISCH SPRING OPERA LAB 2025

Music Director — Chérie Roe

Kathleen Capdesuñer, Martavius Parrish, and Fernando Parra Bortí — Stage Directors

Genevieve McCormick, Steven Smith, Xorlali Plange  — Costume Designers

Farideh Didehvar, Rodrigo Hernandez Martinez, Alex Nuñez Caba — Scenic Designers

RJ Craig, Dani Draper — Lighting Designer

STYX & STONES

MUSIC BY KAT CARTUSCIELLO

LIBRETTO BY JESSICA FIELD

DIRECTION BY KATHLEEN CAPDESUÑER

Every day is the same for Charon, who ferries newly deceased souls across the River Styx (if they can pay, that is). Until Penelope and Donna, an old married couple, wash up on the shore of the Styx together. When they realize only Donna is able to pay the fare to cross, they attempt to move death itself with their love so that they may cross together. Inspired by Patricia Cronin's Woodlawn Cemetery monument "Memorial to a Marriage," "Styx & Stones" mourns time, celebrates love & marriage equality, and existentially investigates death.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

MUSIC BY ANDY LI

LIBRETTO BY SRAVYA SARASWATULA

DIRECTION BY MARTAVIUS PARRISH

Woodlawn Cemetery. A day away from now. 

Restless spirits stirring in sculptures of Anna Hyatt Huntington and Alexander Archipenko find each other awake in the middle of the journey to eternal sleep. They talk to each other about their art and their beliefs. They argue about and criticize each other's opposing aesthetics.

VISIONS IN DRAG

MUSIC BY ZIYAN YANG

LIBRETTO BY ANDI LEE CARTER

DIRECTION BY FERNANDO PARRA BORTÍ

Bert Savoy is the Queen of Vaudeville, but he is about to get fatally zapped by a bolt of lightning. In the seconds before his death, he receives a vision from three fabulous queens who show him the future of drag. Bert sees the work of his own life reflected through the three different queens as each vision builds on the last, drawing Bert toward the realization that the struggle for visibility and acceptance is evolving but ongoing.

TROLLEY TOUR

On May 20, before the concert presentation of the operas, Woodlawn Cemetery will offer audiences a pre-show trolley tour, visiting the gravesites of the iconic figures who inspired the operas. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind experience!

ABOUT AOP-NYU/TISCH OPERA LAB

The World Premiere operas were created in the NYU/Tisch Opera Lab, a collaboration between Brooklyn contemporary opera producer American Opera Projects (AOP) and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. The Lab is a cross-departmental collaboration that was founded in 2015 by faculty members Randall Eng (Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program [GMTWP]) and Sam Helfrich (Department of Design). This year's Opera Lab is led by founders Randall Eng and Sam Helfirich as well as TJ Rubin. GMTWP provides the librettists and composers, AOP provides the singers and music directors, and the Dept. of Design provides the designers.

For more information, visit: https://www.aopopera.org/nyu-opera-lab

Founded in 1988, American Opera Projects (AOP) has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. The Brooklyn-based producing organization commissions, develops and produces lyric theater projects, trains emerging composers and librettists, and creates personal connections within its community. Its works have received critical acclaim at opera companies and venues around the world, establishing a new musical canon that recognizes the operatic story in every life. AOP further expands the operatic field through its training programs The NYU Opera Lab, in partnership with NYU and for students and alumni in The NYU/Tisch Opera Lab; and Composers & the Voice, AOP’s in-house, two-year fellowship program for emerging composers and librettists.

Media Contact:

AOP PR DEPT.

email: info@aopopera.org

Press material is available at: www.aopopera.org/press

Productions of the AOP-NYU/Tisch Opera Lab are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

AOP’s programs are made possible in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Amphion Foundation, BMI, and the contributions of many individuals.