The American Opera Project Receives New Music USA Project Grant

The American Opera Project has received a New Music USA Project Grant to support the continued development and world premiere of The Night Falls, a new dance-driven blend of dance, opera, and musical theater choreographed and directed by Troy Schumacher (the New York City Ballet), with book and lyrics by Karen Russell (Swamplandia!), and music and lyrics by Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin).

Felisberto, a teenager haunted by recurring nightmares following the death of his boyfriend, begins to suspect that beautiful Sirens are summoning him to a Floridian tourist trap called "The Night Falls": a derelict campground and watery grotto, home of "the world's eeriest echoes." Once there, he discovers others have heard the call-and that they have so much more than a nightmare in common. The Night Falls is new American mythology that asks if art and community can successfully combat nihilism and despair-and if humble humans can brace themselves against the deadly song of the Sirens.

As a producer of new works that are defining contemporary American opera, The American Opera Project was thrilled to join The Night Falls as a producer in 2019, providing libretto readings and music workshops in September of that year. The Night Falls is the newest work to be developed by AOP as part of its Dance Opera Initiative, a creative commitment that launched with Hagoromo (2015, Brooklyn Academy of Music) starring Wendy Whelan & Jock Soto performing to choreography by David Neumann and music by Nathan Davis.

For more information on The Night Falls, visit: aopopera.org/the-night-falls