Sam will be flying to LA this January to play Love in the exciting new opera Comet/Poppea, directed by Yuval Sharon artistic director at Detroit Opera, and presented by The Industry. Comet/Poppea is a new work conceived by Sharon that uses Monteverdi’s last opera, “The Coronation of Poppea,” as a jumping-off point for the work of another MacArthur genius, George Lewis, whose newly written opera is based on the W.E.B. Du Bois short story “The Comet.”

“Comet/Poppea” is meant to both critique and celebrate all that is unique and compelling about opera. Sharon, as he is known to do, has conceived an unconventional staging: a rotating playing space that divides the show and the audience in two. One half delves into an ancient world, with Monteverdi’s music performed by Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and the other half dwells in the 20th century, with Lewis’ music played by American Modern Opera Company (libretto by Douglas Kearney).