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FULL THE TRANSIT OPERAS 12 Mini-Operas AOP-NYU/Tisch Opera Lab New York 2026
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: The Transit Operas: Waste
- Composer: various, see below
- Libretto: various, see below Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: New York Transit Museum, NYU African Grove Theatre, John A. Paulson Center, NY University, New York City
- Recorded: May 16 & 17, 20 & 21, 2026
- Type: Staged Opera Live
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
PROGRAM A
(SATURDAY, MAY 16 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 20)
Music Director/Pianist
Julius Abrahams
Stage Manager
Chris Daly
Assistant Stage Manager
Ellie Miller
EMPIRE HEIGHTS
Music by Zane Bridwell
Libretto by Simon Lansberg-Rodriguez
Direction by Jerrica D. White
Costume Design by Eryn Perkins
Set Design by Matt Conte
Lighting Design by Jordan McAuliffe
REBECCA KEEN / Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, Soprano
DANNY WIN / Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Countertenor
JOEY WALKER / Reykwaan Adorno, Tenor
Three candidates interview for a position at the newly-reopened Empire Heights Theater in
post-war New York City.
MAKE ROOM
Music by Felipe Segovia Sanhueza
Libretto by Kennen Butler
Direction by Jerrica D. White
Costume Design by Eryn Perkins
Set Design by Matt Conte
Lighting Design by Jordan McAuliffe
PASSENGER 1963, PASSENGER 1967, NEW FLEET / Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, Soprano
R33 / Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Countertenor
LO-V, PASSENGER 1963, PASSENGER 1967, PASSENGER 1971 / Reykwaan Adorno, Tenor
As the brand new R33 makes its first trip towards Flushing Meadows and the World’s Fair, it is
forced to grapple with the realization that they too may have to make room for the wonders of
the future.
ANOTHER TRAIN, ANOTHER TIME
Music by Landon Braverman
Libretto by Susan C. Li
Direction by Jerrica D. White
Costume Design by Eryn Perkins
Set Design by Matt Conte
Lighting Design by Jordan McAuliffe
MOLLY, MIRIAM / Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, Soprano
ABIGAIL, AMELIA / Kira Dills-DeSurra, Mezzo-soprano
CONDUCTOR, JACKSON / Reykwaan Adorno, Tenor
Another Train, Another Time is a time travel queer love story taking place in both the modern
day and 1904. We follow the story of two souls drawn together against all odds, as human
connection blossoms in the most unlikely of places—a subway car on the Lexington Avenue
line.
IT NEVER STOPS
Music by Gaurav Mishra
Libretto by Caleb Conaway
Direction by Britt Berke
Costume Design by Matt Oxley
Set Design by Yufan Hu and Yun Yen
Lighting Design by Jordan McAuliffe
HCA / Kira Dills-DeSurra, Mezzo-soprano
THE INSTITUTE / Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Countertenor
ARTHUR / Reykwaan Adorno, Tenor
It Never Stops is a short opera set on a 1980s R36 BQ train. Arthur, a recently-jobless mortuary
man, has to confront his uncertain future with the aid of two living subway placard ads: HCA (a
Hemorrhoids Cream advertisement) and THE INSTITUTE (A Business Institute
advertisement). As the train barrels forward, Arthur faces a choice: reinvent his mortuary
service with THE INSTITUTE, or help HCA escape to Coney Island. Darkly comedic and surreal,
It Never Stops explores death, destination, and the inescapable grip of corporate messaging,
setting the audience on a journey they can’t get off.
SOMNAMBULANCE ON THE 4-TRACK LINE
Music by Dan Gibson
Libretto by Chiara M. N.
Direction by Britt Berke
Costume Design by Matt Oxley
Set Design by Yufan Hu and Yun Yen
Lighting Design by Jordan McAuliffe
THE LIGHT / Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, Soprano
PATIENT X / Kira Dills-DeSurra, Mezzo-soprano
THE DOUBT / Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Countertenor
A Triplex subway car: Brooklyn, 1924. A passenger with sleeping sickness ponders their ability
to accept their uncertain future as they face the fears of their worsening symptoms.
LOVE, GEORGE
Music by Stefanos Kemanetzis
Libretto by Chenyue Hu
Direction by Britt Berke
Costume Design by Matt Oxley
Set Design by Yufan Hu and Yun Yen
Lighting Design by Jordan McAuliffe
HELEN / Kira Dills-DeSurra, Mezzo-soprano
GEORGE / Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Countertenor
JOHN, YORGO / Reykwaan Adorno, Tenor
A 15-minute opera exploring the lives of early 20th-century Greek immigrants building the
New York subway, through the perspectives of their letters sent back home to Greece.
PROGRAM B
(SUNDAY, MAY 17 | THURSDAY, MAY 21)
Music Director/Pianist
Chérie Roe
Stage Manager
Chris Moeggenberg
Assistant Stage Manager
Ellie Miller
SICK PASSENGER
Music by Austin Nuckols
Libretto by Tia DeShazor
Direction by Miguel Bregante
Costume Design by Lionella Darling and Oriana Lineweaver
Set Design by Mara Zinky
Lighting Design by M Berry
LATRICE / MaKayla McDonald, Soprano
DAVEY / Robert Mack, Tenor
MR. LUMPKIN / Lyle Smith Mitchell, Baritone
It’s 1979, and Latrice is having her first contraction on the A train. When her boss enters the
subway car with her replacement, she must convince him to let her keep her job before it’s too
late.
WASTE
Music by Commodore Primous
Libretto by Danielle Keiko Eyer
Direction by Martavius Parrish
Costume Design by Christine DiJoseph and Alex Driessen
Set Design by Woori Kim
Lighting Design by Sooji Kim
GIRL / MaKayla McDonald, Soprano
CAROL OF THE MTA / Ilene Pabon, Mezzo-soprano
MAN / Robert Mack, Tenor
Waste takes place on an MTA train car in the near future. A man waits impatiently on a stalled,
delayed train. A 5-year-old girl wanders around the otherwise empty train car,
unaccompanied. Somewhere, an ancient, ageless, godlike being (AKA Carol of the MTA)
watches closely. As the years inexplicably pass, and as the world aboveground burns to ashes,
can the last two humans left on Earth keep each other safe?
MISS SUBWAY
Music by Sean Stone
Libretto by Allie Lewis
Direction by Miguel Bregante
Costume Design by Lionella Darling and Oriana Lineweaver
Set Design by Mara Zinky
Lighting Design by M Berry
BRENDA GRANT / MaKayla McDonald, Soprano
CARRIE FRENCH / Ilene Pabon, Mezzo-soprano
ROSALIND WARNER / Lyle Smith Mitchell, Baritone
Brenda Grant (a nanny and woman of color in her 20s), Carrie French (a secretary in her 30s),
and Rosalind Warner (a maid in her 50s) commute to their jobs together every day. In 1939,
when Miss America winner receives a $2000 hat deal, Brenda imagines what her version of a
subway-based beauty pageant could be, and encourages her friends to share in the dream. This
piece is inspired by and dedicated to three leading ladies who were the first Black women to
win their respective beauty contests:
Thelma Porter (Miss Subways, 1948)
Audrey Smaltz (Miss Transit Queen, 1954)
Vanessa Williams (Miss New York and Miss America, 1983)
ANABASIS
Music by Dawson Atkin
Libretto by Mel Hornyak
Direction by Martavius Parrish
Costume Design by Christine DiJoseph and Alex Driessen
Set Design by Woori Kim
Lighting Design by Sooji Kim
HESPER / MaKayla McDonald, Soprano
NOVA / Ilene Pabon, Mezzo-soprano
LUCIEN / Robert Mack, Tenor
Anabasis is a 15-minute opera for three voices dramatizing the emotions – of terror, of elation,
and of entry into the unrelenting machinery of ever-accelerating capitalist expansion –
concurrent with the first time a subway ran under the East River through the Joralemon Street
Tunnel in 1908, connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn. It is not intended to be strictly narrative. In
1908, the ride was exactly 15 minutes long.
SINCERELY
Music by KrisK
Libretto by Jacob Cordas
Direction by Martavius Parrish
Costume Design by Christine DiJoseph and Alex Driessen
Set Design by Woori Kim
Lighting Design by Sooji Kim
THE FUTURE MISS SUBWAYS / MaKayla McDonald, Soprano
THE SIREN / Ilene Pabon, Mezzo-soprano
THE MINOTAUR / Lyle Smith Mitchell, Baritone
The Future Miss Subways must decide between the proposals of The Minotaur and The Siren.
THE WAYWARD SUBWAY
Music by Tess Edwards
Libretto by Alexander Ronneburg
Direction by Miguel Bregante
Costume Design by Lionella Darling and Oriana Lineweaver
Set Design by Mara Zinky
Lighting Design by M Berry
CLARA / Ilene Pabon, Mezzo-soprano
MAN 1 (MTA EMPLOYEE, SUBWAY ANNOUNCER, RATATONY) / Robert Mack, Tenor
DANNY / Lyle Smith Mitchell, Baritone
Two young New Yorkers get trapped in a subway car, where they navigate less-than-helpful
MTA employees, horrible exes, soup, and rats. NYC, am I right?