Teatro Grattacielo’s America 250 double bill brings together two powerful explorations of freedom — one civic, one personal — created for the national commemoration marking 250 years since the founding of the United States. Jefferson Lives!, a world premiere opera, examines the birth of the American Revolution not as distant history but as lived human experience. Through the ghostly presence of John Adams and a modern Narrator drawn unwillingly into the past, the opera traces how political ideas move from thought into action, revealing the moral pressure, doubt, and consequence behind America’s revolutionary awakening.

Paired with Puccini’s Suor Angelica, which turns inward to explore spiritual confinement and the cost of enforced silence, the evening asks a shared question: what does it mean to seek freedom within systems far larger than ourselves? An empire tightening its grip; a convent demanding obedience — each becomes the space where inner conviction is tested. Together, these works chart freedom as both a public act and a private reckoning, unfolding as a journey through the forces that shape history — and the lives caught within it.

MUSIC BY

Joshua Daniel Nichols

LIBRETTO BY

Libretto by Stefanos Koroneos, based on the original concept and source text by Dr. James R. Harrigan

LOCATION

The Sam at The Flea Theater,

20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007

SUNG IN

English, with supertitles

RUNNING TIME

Jefferson Lives! runs for approximately 50 minutes and is presented together with Suor Angelica, with one 20-minute intermission.

Total running time for the double bill is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.

ACCESSIBILITY

The Flea and all Teatro Grattacielo productions are wheelchair accessible and disability-friendly. Please contact us in advance for any specific accommodation needs.

IN COLLABORATION WITH

POLYHYMNIA *

* About Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia is an interdisciplinary collective of scholars, composers, and artists dedicated to creating an unsafe space for the beautiful—a space where ideas challenge assumptions and where artistic and intellectual exploration can unfold freely.

We publish monographs, edited volumes, essays, peer-reviewed research, and original artistic work that examines the relationship between the arts, the humanities, and the American traditions of freedom and a dynamic cultural marketplace.

Through lectures, conferences, educational programs, podcasts, and seminars, Polyhymnia brings rigorous conversation about the fine arts, economics, politics, philosophy, and culture into the public square.