TIME TO ACT

Music by Laura Kaminsky
Libretto by Crystal Manich • FEBRUARY 28, MARCH 3, 6, 7, 8, 2026

Build the world you want to see.

A group of high school students prepares for a production of Sophocles’ Antigone, joined by a new student, Alona, who comes with a formidable secret.

Pittsburgh Opera is proud to present this gripping world premiere. Time to Act demonstrates how the arts can uplift and unify victims of trauma, empowering them to act, while giving voice to the young citizens who have been most impacted by an ongoing cycle of devastating school violence.

Time to Act is composed by Laura Kaminsky, whose acclaimed opera As One has become the most-produced modern opera in America. Emmy Award nominee Crystal Manich, the librettist, is a Pittsburgh Opera mainstay whose works for stage, film, and circus have been seen across the United States, Europe, Argentina, and Australia.

Content warning: this opera contains a simulated safety drill, and discussions related to the topics of school shootings, school violence, and PTSD.

Special Effects Notice: Theatrical haze, flashing lights, and other strobe-like effects are used briefly in this production

Time to Act is a Co-Commission by Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Montana and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, with additional funding by Opera Santa Barbara.

By permission of the publisher: Bill Holab Music

The production of Time to Act received commissioning and production development support from New Music USA's Organization Fund, OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Women Composers program supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, OPERA America’s Opera Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Michael Sakir conducts; Crystal Manich directs.