Opera Praktikos Premieres ASL and Bel Canto La Sonnambula
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 24 Sep 2026
Publication Type: Event
Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content
Synopsis
This information announces the world premiere of an interabled La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) by Opera Praktikos, a New York City company founded in 2021 that has positioned itself as the nation's leading disability-affirmative opera producer. The one-night concert performance on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at National Sawdust in Brooklyn reworks Vincenzo Bellini and Felice Romani's 1831 bel canto opera into a 90-minute, one-act piece sung in Italian, performed in American Sign Language, and presented with projected English supertitles. Deaf actress Treshelle Edmond signs the role of Lisa while soprano Aja Nile-Brimm sings Amina, and the production uses the historical misunderstandings surrounding sleepwalking as a metaphor for the barriers people with disabilities still face in being understood today. For Deaf and hard of hearing audiences, disabled performers, and opera companies looking toward more inclusive programming, the project offers a working example of ASL and Deaf culture built into a classic score from the start rather than added afterward as interpretation, backed by a creative team with long professional histories in theatrical sign language and opera.
At a Glance
- 1 - Tickets are $35, with a free pre-show panel discussion at 6:30 p.m.
- 2 - Brandon Kazen-Maddox, a third-generation native ASL signer, leads ASL conducting and musical integration.
- 3 - Patrice Creamer, one of the first Deaf theatrical interpreters on Broadway, serves as Director of Artistic Sign Language.
- 4 - National Sawdust named its new makemake Festival after a dwarf planet and a Rapa Nui creator deity. The festival frames accessibility as a design principle rather than an afterthought.
Topic Definition
- Interabled Opera
Interabled opera is opera created and performed by a mixed team of disabled and nondisabled artists working as equal creative partners, with accessibility and disability perspectives built into the production from its earliest stages. Rather than adding access services such as a separate sign language interpreter after a show is finished, an interabled approach folds elements like American Sign Language, Deaf performers, captions, and disability-informed storytelling directly into the music, staging, and script. The result is a single artistic work in which every performer and every mode of expression carries part of the story, allowing disabled audiences and artists to see their own lived experiences reflected on stage while giving all audiences a fresh way to experience the traditional repertoire.
Overview
The Nation's Leading Disability-Affirmative Opera Company, Opera Praktikos, Premieres Groundbreaking Reimagination of La Sonnambula
American Sign Language (ASL) and Bel Canto Opera Merge in an Interabled Concert Performance at National Sawdust's Inaugural makemake Festival on November 18, 2026. Leading the vanguard in interabled opera, Opera Praktikos presents the world premiere of its latest project La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) as part of National Sawdust's 2026 makemake Festival.
In a one-night only concert performance on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, this unique 90-minute work transforms Bellini-Romani's classic masterwork into an unparalleled integrated experience where Italian song and American Sign Language become one expressive whole. Featuring arrangement and orchestration by Spicer Carr, ASL translation & integration by Brandon Kazen-Maddox, Director of Artistic Sign Language by Patrice Creamer; Book, and English translation by Marianna Mott Newirth, this production integrates ASL and Deaf culture into the narrative of a classic opera setting the standard for what's possible when Disability-creativity is brought into the field.
"Working with an interabled team, we view Romani's story through a disability lens, building a deeply familiar yet entirely distinct work. Our abridgement asks universal questions of belonging, examining the complex relationships people with disabilities have with one another and with the community at large." - GREG MOOMJY, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Opera Praktikos
In this 2026 retelling of an 1831 story, the historical misunderstandings of somnambulism serve a powerful metaphor for society's contemporary barriers to understanding disability. Featuring two very talented performers in the lead roles, Deaf actress Treshelle Edmond signs Lisa and Aja Nile-Brimm sings Amina with an extraordinary cast and orchestra behind them.
"The process of integrating ASL with opera requires a lot of advanced work and clear communication. Honoring Deaf culture and opera culture as distinct and complementary expressions of art takes time and understanding. As we learn best ways to collaborate, we discover something new in the classic works. We hope LaSonnambula becomes a model for other opera companies to produce interabled-works for future programming." - MARIANNA MOTT NEWIRTH, Executive Producer and Co-Founder of Opera Praktikos
Spicer Carr
Spicer Carr is a New York City based Composer-Lyricist and Conductor, specializing in Opera and Musical Theater. Spicer's popular Christmas opera Four Lost Santas has played to sold out audiences around the globe in multiple productions since its world premiere in 2024. Current projects include composing The Traveling Companion and Too Bright to See. Spicer's vocal catalogue includes U Up?, Chance the Snapper, The Rocking Boy, Fluffernutter, Sabbath. His instrumental work includes Of no Concern, Nocturnes for an Insomniac, Lunch Rush, and Daydreams. Spicer's work has been commissioned, developed, supported, and performed by Joe's Pub/The Public Theatre, Autistic Theatre Makers Alliance, The Opera People, Opera Las Vegas, Dublin Conservatoire, Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento, Opera Praktikos, Opera America, Opera Orlando, Cincinnati Song Initiative, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, Quintessence Theatre Group, Really Spicy Opera, The TYE Center, MusiCoLab, Temple University Theater, Temple Opera Theatre, and The Purple Crayon Players.
Brandon Kazen-Maddox
Brandon is an ASL Artist, actor, choreographer, director, acrobat, educator and public speaker. A Grandchild of Deaf Adults (GODA) and third-generation native signer of American Sign Language (ASL), Brandon is co-founder of Up Until Now Collective: a company committed to building new structures for artistic creation. Recipient: New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Grant; a 2022 Creative Capital Award, and a 2023 Mertz-Gilmore Foundation Grant for (FREEDOM). Other honors: Gucci's 2022 Chime-for-Change: Visions for a Feminist Future, Partners Global 2023 Art for Marginalized Communities Inclusivity Award and the Miranda Family Foundation's RISE Theater Directory (Circle of Advocates). Brandon was a 2025 Artist in Residence for WNET/ALL ARTS and you can watch their first TEDx Talk, "Channeling the Spirit of the Music in ASL."
Patrice Creamer - Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL)
Patrice Creamer (she/her) was one of the first Deaf theatrical interpreters on Broadway when she debuted in Having Our Say. She went on to interpret for Jesus Christ Superstar, Aida, and Wicked. Patrice has also been the Director of Artistic Sign Language for over 15 Off-Broadway productions including Red Bull Theater's production of The Witch of Edmonton, The Duchess of Malfi, The Maids, Loot and The Mystery of Irma Vep; The Papermill Playhouse's production of The Color Purple; The Public's Theater's Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enough and A Raisin in the Sun; The Brooklyn Academy of Music's production called the Barbershop Chronicles and On Broadway productions including Lion King, Birthday Candles, Hadestown, and Kimberly Akimbo. Queens Theatre's production of Nikki Brake-Sillá's reading SAY IT AIN'T SO. Classic Stage Company's production of Marcus Gardley's play, black odyssey.
About Makemake Festival
Makemake debuts this year as National Sawdust's annual festival inviting artists to imagine futures - making, remixing, rethinking. Named after the dwarf planet that reshaped how we define a world, and the Rapa Nui creator deity of fertility - makemake is about generating new forms: of art, of access, of community. This is a festival that celebrates imagination, and the radical invitation to ratify accessibility by design, not as an afterthought. This is a festival that centers the belief that care is crucial, and that equity is essential. This is a festival for everyone, but especially for those who want to shape what comes next.
About Opera Praktikos
Opera Praktikos (OPrak), established in 2021, proudly stands as New York City's pioneering disability-affirmative opera company. Its mission is to make opera an inclusive and accessible art form for audiences and artists alike by crafting exceptional opera productions that transcend conventional barriers related to class, economic status, and physical challenges. Through deliberate reinterpretations of classical operas and the commissioning of new works, it aims to ensure that artists and audience members can readily identify with the stories and lived experiences of people with disabilities being portrayed on the stage. OPrak is dedicated to breaking down stereotypes about disability and fostering an inclusive and accessible opera community in the heart of New York City.
Program + Ticketing Information:
Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. (free pre-show panel discussion 6:30 p.m.)
National Sawdust, 80 N. 6th Street, Brooklyn, Subway: 4/6 to 23rd Street.
Tickets: $35. To reserve, visit NationalSawdust or call 646-779-8455.
La Sonnambula (1831)
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini - 2026 arr. by Spicer Carr
Original libretto by Felice Romani - Book & new libretto by Marianna Mott Newirth
Musical Direction by Spicer Carr
ASL Conducting & Musical Integration by Brandon Kazen-Maddox
Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL), Patrice Creamer
90 minutes in one act Sung in Italian, signed in ASL, with projected English supertitles
Performers:
Treshelle Edmond, actress (Lisa)
Aja Nile-Brimm, soprano (Amina)
Linda Collazzo, mezzo-soprano (Teresa)
Aaren Rivard, tenor (Elvino)
Phillip K. Bullock, bass (Rodolfo)
Katharine Li, soprano (Choir)
Jay St Flono, soprano (Choir)
Kevin Spooner, baritone (Choir)
Tislam Swift, tenor (Choir)
Brittany Walker, Mezzo (Choir)
Orchestra:
Chloe Johnson, violin (Concert Master)
Camilla Caldwell, violin
Katya Barmotina, viola
Anthime Miller, cello
Ford Fourqurean, clarinet
Andrea Abel, flute
Ser Konvalin, french horn
Charlie Chen, piano (& collaborating rehearsal pianist
Opera Praktikos, Inc. received operating support from OPERA America's NYC Opera Grant: Supporting Small-Business Organizations, supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the generous individual donors who champion OPrak's work every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is bel canto opera?
Bel canto, Italian for beautiful singing, is a style of opera that flourished in Italy in the early 1800s and emphasizes smooth, flexible vocal lines, agility, and expressive ornamentation. Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini are its best-known composers.
What is the story of La Sonnambula?
La Sonnambula follows Amina, a young village woman whose sleepwalking leads her to be found in a stranger's room, causing her fiance Elvino to believe she has been unfaithful until her condition is revealed and her innocence is confirmed.
What is somnambulism?
Somnambulism, commonly called sleepwalking, is a sleep disorder in which a person gets up and moves around or performs activities while still in a state of deep sleep, usually with little or no memory of the event afterward.
What does a Director of Artistic Sign Language do?
A Director of Artistic Sign Language guides how sign language is translated, shaped, and performed in a theatrical production, making sure the signing is accurate, artistically expressive, and true to Deaf culture while matching the tone and timing of the script or score.
How can Deaf people experience music and opera?
Deaf audiences engage with music through visual and physical channels, including artistic sign language that conveys rhythm and emotion, captions or supertitles, the visible energy of performers, and vibrations felt through the floor, seats, or specialized equipment.
What is the difference between ASL interpretation and integrated ASL performance?
Traditional ASL interpretation places an interpreter to the side of the stage to translate a finished show, while integrated ASL performance makes signing part of the artistic design itself, with signing performers sharing the stage and the storytelling with singers and actors.
What does disability-affirmative mean in the arts?
A disability-affirmative arts organization treats disability as a valued part of human identity and culture rather than a problem to fix, casting disabled artists, telling stories shaped by disabled experience, and building accessibility into every stage of its work.
How can opera companies make performances more accessible?
Opera companies can add captions and supertitles, audio description, relaxed or sensory-friendly performances, wheelchair-accessible seating, affordable ticket pricing, and sign language, and they can hire disabled artists and consultants to shape productions from the planning stage onward.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: Productions that place ASL inside the artistic core of an opera, rather than off to the side of the stage, are still rare, and that is what makes this staging worth noting. Artistic Director Greg Moomjy describes the abridgement as a look at belonging and at the relationships people with disabilities have with one another and with the wider community, while Executive Producer Marianna Mott Newirth frames the work as a possible template for other companies planning interabled programming. The modest scale - an eight-piece chamber orchestra, a five-voice choir, and a single evening - keeps the project practical, and support from OPERA America's NYC Opera Grant, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs shows that funders are beginning to back this kind of access-first approach. For Deaf patrons, disabled artists, and anyone who has felt shut out of classical music, it is a clear signal that opera can be rebuilt to include them without losing its musical heart.
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability, a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.