Teatro Grattacielo has announced the receival of a $24k grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of their upcoming chamber opera ‘Jefferson Lives!’
Premiering on November 7 at The Flea in New York City, this work will explore John Adams’ deathbed reflections and themes of the nation’s founding, paying homage to the America250 celebration being held in venues nationwide. The premiere will also have a post-performance discussion, as well as free tickets for certain schools.
“Rather than presenting history as a fixed narrative, the opera approaches the American Revolution as a living psychological and theatrical experience,” says Stefanos Koroneos, Librettist and Director. “John Adams appears as a ghost shaped by memory and moral burden, while a modern Narrator—an accidental protagonist—finds himself overtaken by the history he thought he only knew. Moving fluidly between dialogue, monologue, music, and silence, the work transforms documented events into a dramatic journey that traces how ideas of freedom and resistance migrate from thought into action. ‘Jefferson Lives!’ invites audiences to encounter the Revolution not as a monument, but as an unresolved human reckoning.”
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support opportunities across the country for Americans to experience and participate in the arts,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “As we celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary this year, it is a moment to recognize the important role the arts continue to play in our lives, communities, and heritage.”