American Apollo

Summary

“Mr. Sargent is a painter of souls.”

A black model seeking opportunity with persecution at his heels, a celebrity portrait artist in search of authentic inspiration, and a powerful female patron form the potent triangular relationship at the heart of this new opera from Damien Geter and Lila Palmer. Can love transcend the barriers of power, class, race and gender, and can art ever elevate the model to anything more than a tool? The relationship between the famous portraitist, John Singer Sargent and his most significant model form the subject of this simmering exploration of love, erasure and art, inspired by Sargent’s only uncommissioned monumental male nude.

Run Time: 140 minutes (full); 20 minutes (chamber)