Teatro Grattacielo Receives $24K NEA Grant for World Premiere of JEFFERSON LIVES!
The multidisciplinary chamber opera explores John Adams' deathbed reflections on the founding of the nation
Teatro Grattacielo is the recipient of an FY 2026 grant award of $24,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts. This funding will support the world premiere performances of the multidisciplinary chamber opera "Jefferson Lives!".
"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."
Paying homage to the America250 celebration, this multidisciplinary new commission is an exploration of John Adams' reflections on his deathbed about the founding of the nation. Following a developmental workshop and open performance in Tucson, Arizona, this November in collaboration with Polyhymnia, the world premiere will be presented on November 7 and 8 at The Flea in New York City, led by conductor Saverio Alfieri. Related engagement activities include post-performance talkbacks, study guides, and free tickets for 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 creative team bringing this vision to life includes:
- Joshua Daniel Nichols, Composer
- Stefanos Koroneos, Librettist & Director
- James Harrigan, Concept & Source Material
- Saverio Alfieri, Conductor
- Camilla Tassi, Projection Designer
- Amara McNeil, Lighting Designer
- Angela Huff, Costume Designer
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