Gotham Chamber Opera Orchestra commissions a new opera with an intense plot

What happens when a woman tries to escape from her life in a fundamentalist Mormon sect? That’s the plot of “Dark Sisters,” a new opera with music by Nico Muhly and libretto by Stephen Karam. The Gotham Chamber Opera, whose musicians are covered by a Local 802 agreement, commissioned the work along with the Music Theatre Group and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Gotham will premiere the opera this November at John Jay College.

The photo below by Stephanie Berger was taken during a recent rehearsal. Pictured below are Neal Goren, conductor and artistic director; Christopher Lee and Keats Dieffenbach, violins; Nardo Poy, viola; Sato Moughalian, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Michelle Gott, harp; Thomas Hutchinson, trombone; Patrick Pridemore, French horn; Eric Poland, percussion; Arash Amini, cello; and Gregg August, bass.