THE TRANSIT OPERAS,
12 short operas inspired and dedicated to
the New York Transit Museum, celebrating their 50th anniversary! | | |
AOP-NYU/TISCH OPERA LAB SPRING 2026
The Transit Operas
World Premiere operas created in the AOP-NYU/Tisch Opera Lab
to be presented on May 16 & 17 at NYU's African Grove Theatre and May 20 & 21 at the New York Transit Museum
Tickets for the Transit Museum performances on May 20 & 21 are sold out
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Founded in 1976 as part of America’s Bicentennial, the New York Transit Museum began as a temporary exhibition proposed by NYC Transit employees. Housed in a decommissioned 1936 subway station in Brooklyn, the exhibition was meant to last only a few months but became the largest museum in North America dedicated to mass transit and a beloved cultural institution. Today, it connects New Yorkers and visitors alike to transit history through exhibitions, educational programs, and one-of-a-kind experiences.
Learn more about the NY Transit Museum: https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/
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The Transit Operas
AOP-NYU/TISCH SPRING OPERA LAB 2026
Julius Abrahams, Chérie Roe — Music Directors
Britt Berke, Jerrica White, Miguel Bregante, Martavius Parrish — Stage Directors
Lionella Darling, Christine DiJospeh, Alex Driessen, Oriana Lineweaver,
Matt Oxley, Eryn Perkins — Costume Designers
Matt Conte, Woori Kim, Yufan Hu, Yun Yen, Mara Zinky — Scenic Designers
M Berry, Sooji Kim, Jordan McAuliffe — Lighting Designers
TJ Rubin — Production Manager
W. Wilson Jones — Production Stage Manager
Chris Daly, Chris Moeggenberg — Stage Managers
Ellie Miller — Assistant Stage Manager
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Somnambulance on the 4-Track Line
MUSIC by Dan Gibson
LIBRETTO by Chiara M. N.
STAGE DIRECTION by Britt Berke
A Triplex subway car: Brooklyn, 1924. A passenger with sleeping sickness ponders their ability to accept their uncertain future as they face the fears of their worsening symptoms.
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Make Room
MUSIC by Felipe Segovia Sanhueza
LIBRETTO by Kennen Butler
STAGE DIRECTION by Jerrica White
As the brand new R33 makes its first trip towards Flushing Meadows and the World's Fair, it is forced to grapple with the realization that they too may have to make room for the wonders of the future.
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Empire Heights
MUSIC by Zane Britwell
LIBRETTO by Simon Lansberg-Rodriguez
STAGE DIRECTION by Jerrica White
Three candidates interview for a position at the newly-reopened Empire Heights Theater in post-war New York City.
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Another Train, Another Time
MUSIC by Landon Braverman
LIBRETTO by Susan C. Li
STAGE DIRECTION by Jerrica White
A time travel queer love story taking place in both the modern day and 1904. We follow the story of two souls drawn together against all odds, as human connection blossoms in the most unlikely of places of a subway car on the Six Avenue line.
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Love, George
MUSIC by Stefanos Kemanetzis
LIBRETTO by Chenyue Hu
STAGE DIRECTION by Britt Berke
A 15-minute opera exploring the lives of early 20th-century Greek immigrants building the New York subway, through the perspectives of their letters sent back home to Greece.
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It Never Stops
MUSIC by Gaurav Mishra
LIBRETTO by Caleb Conaway
STAGE DIRECTION by Britt Berke
A short opera set on a 1980s R36 BQ train. Arthur, a recently-jobless mortuary man, has to confront his uncertain future with the aid of two living subway placard ads: HCA (a Hemorrhoids Cream advertisement) and THE INSTITUTE (A Business Institute advertisement). As the train barrels forward, Arthur faces a choice: reinvent his mortuary service with THE INSTITUTE, or help HCA escape to Coney Island.
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Miss Subway
MUSIC by Sean Stone
LIBRETTO by Allie Lewis
STAGE DIRECTION by Miguel Bregante
In 1934, three working women imagine a world in which a beauty pageant might be more inclusive, and come up with what they hope a Miss Subway contest might look like.
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Anabasis
MUSIC by Dawson Atkin
LIBRETTO by Mel Hornyak
STAGE DIRECTION by Martavius Parrish
A 15-minute opera for three voices dramatizing the emotions - of terror, of elation, and of entry into the unrelenting machinery of ever-accelerating capitalist expansion - concurrent with the first time a subway ran under the East River through the Joralemon Street Tunnel in 1908, connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn. It is not intended to be strictly narrative. In 1908, the ride was exactly 15 minutes long.
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Sick Passenger
MUSIC by Austin Nuckols
LIBRETTO by Tia DeShazor
STAGE DIRECTION by Miguel Bregante
It's 1979, and Latrice is having her first contraction on the A train. When her boss enters the subway car with her replacement, she must convince him to let her keep her job before it's too late.
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The Wayward Subway
MUSIC by Tess Edwards
LIBRETTO by Alexander Ronneburg
STAGE DIRECTION by Miguel Bregante
Two young New Yorkers get trapped in a subway car, where they navigate less-than-helpful MTA employees, horrible exes, soup, and rats. NYC, am I right?
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Waste
MUSIC by Commodore Primous
LIBRETTO by Danielle Keiko Eyer
STAGE DIRECTION by Martavius Parrish
Waste takes place on an MTA train car in the near future. A man waits impatiently on a stalled, delayed train. A 5-year-old girl wanders around the otherwise empty train car, unaccompanied. Somewhere, an ancient, ageless, godlike being (AKA Carol of the MTA) watches closely. As the years inexplicably pass, and as the world aboveground burns to ashes, can the last two humans left on Earth keep each other safe?
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Sincerely
MUSIC by KrisK
LIBRETTO by Jacob Cordas
STAGE DIRECTION by Martavius Parrish
The Future Miss Subways must decide between the proposals of The Minotaur and The Siren.
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AOP-NYU/Tisch Opera Lab led by
Sam Helfrich, Arts Professor in NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Department of Design for Stage & Film
Randall Eng, Associate Arts Professor in NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program
ITP Art Installations led by
Kari Love, Adjunct Professor of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ ITP department
Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Assistant Arts Professor of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ ITP department
Interactive art installations created by students, residents and faculty from NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ ITP department.
A collaborative project of NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, Department of Design for Stage and Film, and American Opera Projects.
For more than a decade, the program has supported over 130 emerging composers and librettists and more than 70 theater design students in telling stories from across NYC.
| | ABOUT AMERICAN OPERA PROJECTS | 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 program, Opera Lab, a long-established partnership with NYU Tisch for emerging composers and librettists. This season AOP welcomed a doctoral candidate in voice at NYU Steinhardt to our resident ensemble of singers. | |
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 National Endowment for the Arts, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Amphion Foundation, BMI, and the contributions of many individuals.
| AOP is supported through generous funding from the following organizations: |
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