VOX
About VOX
American opera is at a thrilling crossroads, with a surge of innovative composers, librettists, singers, and an expanding audience eager to experience cutting-edge new work. Yet, despite this flourishing landscape, opportunities for artists to workshop and hone pieces on the scale of grand opera are increasingly rare. This gap is where VOX steps in. VOX is a collaboration among seven musical organizations in New York City that care passionately about supporting the future of opera: American Composers Orchestra, Beth Morrison Projects, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, MasterVoices, the Metropolitan Opera, PAC NYC. Performing at the stunning new PAC NYC, VOX will showcase four in-process works of scale in New York City, offering a rare platform for artists from across the country to present new creations. The performance will be book-in-hand concert presentations of 20-30 minute excerpts from each opera, performed with soloists, full orchestra and chorus. VOX isn’t just a showcase— it is a crucial steppingstone in the long and often under-supported journey of new opera development. With VOX, we aim to support the future of American opera by offering artists the space and resources to experiment, refine, and, ultimately, bring their groundbreaking visions to the stage.
A Note on the History of VOX
"In 1999, New York City Opera launched VOX: Showcasing American Opera, the first and only program of its kind dedicated to presenting excerpts of new grand operas by contemporary American composers. What began as an ingenious way to make use of available orchestra weeks quickly evolved into something far more consequential: an essential industry platform where general directors, artistic leaders, tastemakers, and audiences could experience a wide-ranging panorama of new operatic works in a single performance.
VOX presentations were mounted on a grand scale, featuring full orchestra, chorus, and principal artists. Projects were selected through an open call for scores and adjudicated by a jury of City Opera’s artistic staff, ensuring both rigor and discovery. Over time, the program became one of the field’s most significant incubators for new American opera.
In later seasons, VOX was produced by acclaimed director Yuval Sharon, followed by Creative Producer Beth Morrison, who led the program in 2010 and 2011. Shortly thereafter, New York City Opera ceased operations, and when the company was later reconstituted, VOX was no longer part of its programming. With the blessing of the current NYCO board, however, the program now moves forward under its original name.
Reviving VOX has long been a dream of Beth Morrison’s, but such an undertaking requires a true collective effort. The 2026 reimagining of VOX is made possible through a remarkable and landmark coalition of partners: American Composers Orchestra, Beth Morrison Projects, MasterVoices, The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Mannes Opera (The New School), and the Manhattan School of Music Vocal Arts Division.
Together, this coalition reaffirms VOX’s original mission: to champion the next generation of American opera and to provide the field with a vital space for discovery, ambition, and artistic risk on a grand scale."
– Beth Morrison
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR & CREATIVE PRODUCER — BETH MORRISON
MUSIC DIRECTOR — TED SPERLING
CREATIVE TEAM
BETH MORRISON
CURATOR & DIRECTOR
TED SPERLING
MUSIC DIRECTOR
SUPPORT
Presented by American Composers Orchestra, Beth Morrison Projects, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, MasterVoices, the Metropolitan Opera, and PAC NYC, VOX offers emerging composers and creative teams a rare opportunity to workshop and present large-scale new opera in New York City.