Teatro Grattacielo Announces 2026 Season

For its 32nd season Teatro Grattacielo celebrates opera as the ultimate collaborative art form — where music theater and imagination collide. This year the company transforms the stage into a living city of ideas creativity and community. Two world premieres bold new productions of beloved works and the continued expansion of Creative Tableaux and Opera at Gotham Park promise a season of bold voices and urban pulse — inviting audiences not just to watch but to belong.

Building on a strong foundation Teatro Grattacielo welcomes Cate Pisaroni (Creative Director) Abdiel Vázquez (Music Director) and Enrico Fagone (Associate Music Director) to its artistic team. Working alongside Artistic and General Director Stefanos Koroneos Chairman Enzo Pizzimenti the Board of Directors and the company’s creative and administrative staff they will contribute their talents to the continued expansion of the company’s artistic vision.

The Tempest — World Staged Premiere

July 16 & 18 2026 at the Ellen Stewart Theater La MaMa creative shares

https://grattacielo.org/season/world-staged-premiere-the-tempest

Marking its world staged premiere Joseph Summer’s The Tempest brings Shakespeare’s final masterpiece to the operatic stage with vivid imagination and emotional depth. The opera—set to a libretto by the composer’s daughter Eve Summer—transforms the tale of exile forgiveness and renewal into a richly layered musical world offering a contemporary voice deeply attuned to Shakespeare’s spirit.​​

“Summer’s musical language is comfortably tonal but sophisticated ceaselessly inventive and often gripping; he’s a vivid musical storyteller… an embarrassment of riches—the marvelous group numbers just keep coming culminating in a blazingly celebratory climax.”



— Opera News review of 2015 studio recording of The Tempest

The production will be conducted by Enrico Fagone and directed by Teatro Grattacielo’s Artistic Director Stefanos Koroneos. The cast will include Daniel Klein Kelly Guerra Maia Gonzalez Sarah Rose Johnson and Omar Najmi among other favorites and will feature the Teatro Grattacielo Orchestra.

Così fan tutte — New Production

July 17 & 19 2026 at the Ellen Stewart Theater La MaMa creative shares

https://grattacielo.org/season/cosi-fan-tutte

A perennial favorite of the operatic canon and the third of Mozart’s collaborations with his famed librettist Lorenzo da Ponte Così fan tutte distills the pair’s finest qualities: humor intrigue and a sharp eye on the human condition.

In this new production directed by Cate Pisaroni and conducted by Abdiel Vázquez the familiar tale is reframed through a polyamorous design-driven lens—a contemporary exploration of love as process rather than verdict. Pisaroni transforms Mozart’s experiment in fidelity into an open emotionally intelligent study of connection self-construction and fluid identity set within a minimalist world inspired by Bauhaus geometry and Lars von Trier’s Dogville. The result honors Mozart’s wit while boldly re-examining intimacy transparency and the human desire to design—and test—the boundaries of love.

And in a fitting resonance for a New York–based project Lorenzo da Ponte—who later lived taught and helped introduce Italian opera to the United States—left a cultural imprint on the city that subtly echoes through this contemporary reimagining.

250 America | Double Bill | World Premiere of Jefferson Lives! & Suor Angelica

November 7 & 8 2026 at the Sam Theater The Flea

https://grattacielo.org/season/250-america-jefferson-lives-suor-angelica2

Teatro Grattacielo’s double bill celebrates America250 with two powerful visions of freedom — the revolutionary spirit of Joshua Daniel Nichols & James Harrigan’s Jefferson Lives! a world premiere commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the spiritual grace of Puccini’s Suor Angelica.

Both operas ask: What is the cost of our convictions and how do we remain true to them? Together these works frame the evening as a celebration not only of America’s history but also of the enduring human yearning for liberty dignity and grace — values that transcend time and nation.

__

Creative Tableaux

https://grattacielo.org/season/creative-tableaux

Creative Tableaux is Teatro Grattacielo’s year-round tuition-free program that places young people and emerging creatives at the center of the creative process. CT offers workshops and hands-on training in performance design and stagecraft alongside mentorship from leading artists creatives and administrators. By connecting opera to visual arts design and storytelling Creative Tableaux nurtures both access for artists and access for audiences. Each season the program provides free public-facing performances distributes hundreds of tickets to schools and offers collaborative opportunities that build confidence skills and community. Our goal is not only to promote opera as an art form but also to empower the next generation of performers designers and cultural leaders.

Opera at Gotham Park

https://grattacielo.org/programs/opera-at-gotham-park

Teatro Grattacielo (TG) is dedicated to fostering artistic and cultural engagement that extends beyond the concert stage creating spaces where diverse communities can connect through the arts. In collaboration with Gotham Park (GP) a grassroots nonprofit revitalizing underutilized spaces beneath the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge TG is developing multidisciplinary initiatives to bring opera to this dynamic community. This partnership with GP’s female-led leadership and skateboarding community explores the intersection of opera movement and storytelling in unexpected public spaces. Through free accessible programming TG aims to bring together residents families and young artists from public arts schools building lasting relationships through shared creative experiences.

About Teatro Grattacielo’s last three decades

Successful productions of rare and forgotten operatic gems such as Mascagni’s Guglielmo Ratcliff Montemezzi’s L’Amore dei Tre Re Giordano’s La Cena Delle Beffe and Spontini’s historic Italian version of La Vestale are some highlights of Teatro Grattacielo’s past years to name a few. The company's dedication to excellence and musical authenticity has earned recognition from audiences critics and artists alike. Under new leadership since 2020 Teatro Grattacielo has expanded both its repertoire and boundaries gaining international acclaim and creating collaborations with prominent arts organizations implementing the robust educational and outreach programs Creative Tableaux and Opera at Gotham Park and experimenting with innovative performance techniques. In 2024 Teatro Grattacielo celebrated its 30th Anniversary Season with the world premiere of an American opera Beyond the Horizon by Nicolas Flagello which was very well received by the New York press; its ongoing mission to champion new American works led to the 2025 premiere of The Tin Angel by Daniel Asia alongside their continued artistic investment in Italian and verismo works.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit https://grattacielo.org/buy-tickets.

As General and Artistic Director of Teatro Grattacielo Stefanos Koroneos brings a multidisciplinary vision that has expanded the company into year-round New York programming strengthened community and educational initiatives and established international co-productions.

His recent successes include acclaimed stagings of Idomeneo Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro across the U.S. Greece and Italy as well as his award-winning Giulietta e Romeo in Battery Park City. He has directed Don Giovanni Madama Butterfly Carmen and La Vestale for companies in New Jersey Mexico Greece and New York. In 2025 he produced and directed Le nozze di Figaro L’amico Fritz and Rossini Perduto led the world premiere of Daniel Asia’s Tin Angel at La MaMa and joined the directing staff at the Metropolitan Opera for revivals of The Barber of Seville and Carmen.

Previous work includes I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams for Tri-Cities and Syracuse Operas Carmen for Boheme Opera Domme + Giovanni for White Snake Projects and productions of L’elisir d’amore and The Magic Flute for Tri-Cities Opera and the LUMA Festival.

Koroneos has collaborated with major artists including Franco Zeffirelli Fabrizio Melano Moisés Kaufman and Richard Bonynge—partnerships that deeply shaped his directorial voice. His earlier international career as a baritone included performances at Teatro alla Scala Teatro Regio di Torino the Bolshoi Theater New York City Opera Palm Beach Opera and the Greek National Opera.

Cate Pisaroni is a visionary Creative Director with a deep-rooted connection to classical music and a passion for reimagining how opera speaks to contemporary audiences. As founder of Lenny’s Studio a boutique PR and digital agency specializing in classical music and opera she has shaped the visual and narrative identities of leading artists festivals and institutions worldwide. Her work bridges design media and storytelling — transforming tradition into bold modern experiences. As Creative Director she leads cross-disciplinary collaborations that merge music visual art and digital media championing innovation inclusivity and emotionally intelligent storytelling. Cate’s portfolio includes international festivals and tours album releases major rebranding initiatives and digital strategy for institutions such as IDAGIO. She also serves as Co-Artistic Director of Liedstadt a festival dedicated to the art of song and known for its forward-thinking programming. Based in Vienna and working across continents she leads a multilingual creative team redefining how the classical world communicates in the digital age.

Abdiel Vázquez is a Mexican conductor pianist and artistic innovator whose work spans opera houses orchestras and educational projects across the Americas and Europe. In the 2025–2026 season he joins the National Opera Company of Mexico as Assistant Conductor and Head Coach conducting La Vida Breve and El Amor Brujo performing Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and assisting on major productions including Elektra and a new recording of Salome with the Minería Symphony Orchestra.

Vázquez is the founder of the Philharmonic Orchestra La Súper in Monterrey where he has led cycles of Beethoven Brahms and Tchaikovsky premiered new works and created genre-crossing performances—including collaborating with Danny Elfman on The Nightmare Before Christmas. A Steinway Artist and recipient of Mexico’s National Youth Award he has appeared at leading venues such as Teatro Colón Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Gran Teatro Nacional and performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist he has played major concertos from Beethoven to Rachmaninoff and gave the Mexican premiere of Barber’s Piano Concerto and the New York premiere of Ponce’s Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall. His collaborations span opera stars Ailyn Pérez Elīna Garanča Kristine Opolais and Javier Camarena among many others.

Vázquez is also the founder of Vincerò Academy and the International Music Theatre Academy connecting young artists with leading figures in opera and Broadway. His discography includes two solo albums and the Latin GRAMMY®-nominated Mariachitlán.

Enrico Fagone has been named Associate Conductor of Teatro Grattacielo effective November 2025 following his acclaimed performance of the world premiere of The Tin Angel by Daniel Asia with the company.

Fagone also serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Long Island Concert Orchestra in New York. He has conducted world-renowned ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra RAI National Symphony Orchestra of Turin Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana Milan Symphony Orchestra Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova Orchestra of the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari Göttingen Symphony Orchestra Munich Chamber Opera and many others.

In 2025 Fagone made a celebrated return to the Verdi Festival in Parma and conducted the CulturArte Gala in Puerto Rico featuring rising stars Emily D’Angelo and Freddy Di Tommaso. In October he led the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in a special concert commemorating the United Nations’ visit to Switzerland and later returned to the Juilliard School to give a masterclass.

Upcoming engagements include debuts at the Arena di Verona a third appearance this year with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and a debut with Opera Southwest in Albuquerque New Mexico.

In 2023 Fagone conducted the London Symphony Orchestra on the album Aspire (Musica Solis) featuring clarinetist Seunghee Lee and composer/bandoneonist JP Jofre. The recording received a GRAMMY nomination.

___

Follow Teatro Grattacielo on social media:

Facebook: @teatrograttacieloNYC | Instagram: @teatrograttacielo

#

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Michelle Tabnick PR