THE OPPOSABLE THUMB

Courtney Miller sings the Ibis in THE OPPOSABLE THUMB with American Lyric Theatre

February 23, 2020; 1:00 pm, Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Joan Weill Center for Dance, New York City, NY

Music by LILIYA UGAY

Libretto by JULIAN CROUCH

The Opposable Thumb is a new opera about a young woman determined to escape the mayhem that descends upon a zoo when war strikes. Based on various true accounts of the last two hundred years, this fascinating work questions whether mankind is superior to the animals that are contained behind the bars of the zoo’s cages, or just another ape with an opposable thumb, and a trigger pulling finger.

ALT’s libretto reading of this rich story, embedded with comedy and deep humanity, was one of the company’s most popular events last season. Now, hear Julian Crouch’s extraordinary libretto come alive in Liliya Ugay’s evocative, highly theatrical score during the first piano vocal reading of the opera.

Pianist: Jason Shaw

Conducted by Emily Senturia

This opera is currently being developed under the auspices of American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program.