Teatro Grattacielo Receives NEA Grant for Jefferson Lives!
DATE: May 11, 2026
Polyhymnia is proud to announce that Teatro Grattacielo has received a National Endowment for the Arts Grant to support the world premiere of Jefferson Lives!
TUCSON, ARIZONA – Polyhymnia is pleased to announce that Teatro Grattacielo, the co-producer of the new chamber opera Jefferson Lives!, is the recipient of a FY2026 grant award of $24,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This award follows a FY2025 grant award of $30,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to Polyhymnia.
In this regard, Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the NEA, said, “As we celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary this year, it is a moment to highlight the important role the arts continue to play in our lives, communities, and heritage.”
“Rather than presenting history as a fixed narrative, Jefferson Lives! approaches the American Revolution as a living psychological and theatrical experience,” says Stefanos Koroneos, Librettist and Director.
“Moving fluidly between dialogue, monologue, music, and silence, the work transforms documented events into a dramatic journey that traces how ideas of freedom and resistance migrate from thought into action. Jefferson Lives! invites audiences to encounter the Revolution not as a monument, but as an unresolved human reckoning.”
Paying homage to America@250, Polyhymnia will workshop this new multi-media commission in Tucson this October, culminating in two presentations at the University of Arizona’s Holsclaw Hall on October 29th, with one presentation for High School Students. Jefferson Lives! will debut on November 7 and 8 at The Flea Theatre in New York City.
This work is based on James R. Harrigan’s original historical narrative and Joshua Daniel Nichols’ score commissioned by Polyhymnia.
You can also visit our project page to learn more about Jefferson Lives! and the production’s upcoming performances.
