(Credit: Frances Marshall )

Music of Remembrance has received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for its production of “Before It All Goes Dark.”

The grant will support the commission, tour, and recording of the new opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. “Before It All Goes Dark” is set to world premiere in May 2024 in Seattle before heading to San Francisco and Chicago.

“We’re deeply grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for its support of this project,” said Music of Remembrance Artistic Director Mina Miller per an official press release.  “The grant helps make it possible for us to bring this meaningful work into the world. It also makes an important statement about the significant role that smaller performing arts organizations, like Music of Remembrance, can play in the nation’s musical life.”

This is the largest grant that Music of Remembrance has ever received from the NEA. “Before It All Goes Dark” tells the story of an ailing Vietnam War veteran who learns that he is the sole heir of a valuable art collection stole by the Nazis. The work explores his journey to reclaim his legacy and discover the identity he had never known. The work is based on a true story as reported by Howard Reich.

The production, which is directed by Erich Parce, will star Ryan McKinny and Megan Marino.