New York City-based Opera Praktikos, the nation’s leading disability-affirmative opera company, has announced the world premiere of its newest work. This production reimagines Vincenzo Bellini and Felice Romani’s celebrated 1831 work La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) by integrating the original Italian singing with American Sign Language.
Opera Praktikos was founded in 2021 by Greg Moomjy and Marianna Mott Nerwith, who aimed to make opera more accessible for both audiences and artists. The organization helps opera lovers overcome physical, economic, and other barriers in order to connect and identify with the stories being told onstage. These stories often center on the lived experiences of people with disabilities, with the mission of breaking down disability stereotypes.
The performance seeks to celebrate both Deaf culture and opera culture. Featuring Aja Nile-Brimm singing as Amina and Deaf actress Treshelle Edmond signing the role of Lisa, this version of La Sonnambula leans into the parallels between nineteenth-century misunderstandings about sleepwalking and contemporary misunderstandings of people with disabilities.
Marianna Mott Newirth, Executive Producer and Opera Praktikos co-founder, shared, “The process of integrating ASL with opera requires a lot of advanced work and clear communication. Honoring Deaf culture and opera culture as distinct and complementary expressions of art takes time and understanding. As we learn best ways to collaborate, we discover something new in the classic works. We hope La Sonnambula becomes a model for other opera companies to produce interabled works for future programming.”
Opera Praktikos will present La Sonnambula exclusively on Wednesday, Nov. 18 as part of National Sawdust’s makemake Festival in Brooklyn. The 90-minute show will begin at 7:30 p.m., with a free pre-show panel discussion at 6:30. Tickets for this production are available for $35 on the National Sawdust website. For more information, see the Opera Praktikos website. operapraktikos.org
Bluesky Discussion
View on BlueskyNo replies yet. Be the first to comment on Bluesky!
Comments are closed.