The Comet / Poppea
| Miranda Cuckson | |
| June 21, 2025 | |
| 3:00 pm | |
| New York City | |
| David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center | |
| Google Map |
AMOC* opens our milestone Run AMOC* Festival with the New York premiere of The Comet / Poppea. This production fuses Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea (1642) with W.E.B. Du Bois’s short story The Comet (1920). Directed by Yuval Sharon, it explores power, survival, and race through the lens of cosmic disaster. George Lewis’s evocative new score—a 2025 Pulitzer finalist—links these narratives in a visionary operatic landscape. The stellar cast features AMOC* members Davóne Tines and Anthony Roth Costanzo. Tony Award-winner and Lincoln Center Artist-in-Residence (2022–24) Mimi Lien’s rotating set merges ancient Rome with comet-ravaged New York, creating an apocalyptic, immersive experience.
George Lewis and Claudio Monteverdi, composers
Based on the short story “The Comet” by W.E.B Du Bois
Douglas Kearney, Libretto
Yuval Sharon, Concept and Direction
Marc Lowenstein, Music Director
Mimi Lien, Set Design
John Torres, Lighting Design
Mark Grey, Sound Design
Oana Botez, Costume Design
Anthony Roth Costanzo*, Nero / Julia’s father
Kearstin Piper Brown, Poppea
Davóne Tines*, Jim / Mercury
Kiera Duffy, Julia
Evan Hughes, Seneca
Amanda Lynn Bottoms, Ottone / Virtue
Whitney Morrison, Ottavia / “Friend” / Fortune
Joelle Lamarre, Love / Nellie
Keir GoGwilt*, Violin
Miranda Cuckson*, Viola
Coleman Itzkoff*, Cello
Emi Ferguson*, Flute
Doug Balliett*, double bass
Jonny Allen*, Percussion
Richard Valitutto, Piano
Elliot Figg, Harpsichord
Paul Holmes Morton, Theorbo
Adam Young, Viola da Gamba
An * asterisk next to an artist’s name denotes that they are one of 17 founding AMOC* company members.