Location
David H. Koch Theater
20 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023
Performance Date
Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 8:30pm
Thursday, June 19, 2025, 8:30pm
Friday, June 20, 2025, 3:00pm and 8:30pm
Saturday, June 21, 3:00pm
AMOC* opens its milestone Run AMOC* Festival with the New York premiere of The Comet / Poppea.
The Comet / Poppea brings together seemingly disparate worlds connected by stories of cultural transformation. The work juxtaposes Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), an Italian opera from 1643 unfolding among the social divisions of ancient Rome; and the world premiere of The Comet, based on the 1920 science-fiction short story by sociologist and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois. Set in 1920s New York City, “The Comet” depicts a Black man and white woman as the only survivors after a comet hits Earth.
Presented on a turntable divided in two halves, these worlds unfold simultaneously, with the stage’s rotation creating a visual and sonic spiral for audiences—inviting associations, dissociations, collisions, and confluences.
Composed by George Lewis and Claudio Monteverdi
Based on the short story “The Comet” by W.E.B Du Bois
Libretto by Douglas Kearney
Creative Team
Director and Concept: Yuval Sharon
Music Director: Marc Lowenstein
Set Design: Mimi Lien
Lighting Design: John Torres
Sound Design: Mark Grey
Costume Design: Oana Botez
Cast
Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nero / Julia’s father
Davóne Tines, Jim / Mercury
Kiera Duffy, Julia
Evan Hughes, Seneca
Amanda Lynn Bottoms, Ottone /Virtue
Whitney Morrison, Ottavia / “Friend” / Fortune
Joelle Lamarre, Love / Nellie
Ensemble
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