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The text 'American Apollo' in bold black letters with a slight shadow on a white background.
A shirtless man with a white cloth draped over his body, standing barefoot in front of a wall with sketch drawings of athletes and muscular figures.

Music by Damien Geter (2024)
Libretto by Lila Palmer

In English with English Surtitles

American Apollo imagines a relationship between the celebrated American Portrait artist John Singer Sargent and his muse and model, Thomas Eugene McKeller, a Black hotel worker. Though McKeller’s body shaped some of Sargent’s most iconic works, his name and identity were largely erased from history. What begins as an artistic opportunity evolves into an intimate exploration of race, class, power, and sexuality. American Apollo is a love story that explores who gets immortalized, who is left unnamed, and what it means to claim your own story.

Saturday, August 8 • 2 PM

Thursday, August 13 • 8 PM

Sunday, August 16 • 2 PM

Meet the Creative Team and Cast

  • A man with a beard wearing a denim jacket and cap sitting at a piano with a laptop on the music stand, smiling.

    Damien Geter

    COMPOSER

  • Woman with dark hair in a red dress standing in front of a bookshelf, smiling and posing with her hand on her hip.

    Lila Palmer

    LIBRETTIST

  • A woman sitting and smiling in front of a white curtain, wearing a black leather shirt and silver jewelry.

    Nataki Garrett

    DIRECTOR

  • A smiling man in a black suit holding a conductor's baton in an auditorium with red theater seats.

    Kedrick Armstrong

    MUSIC DIRECTOR

  • A professional man in a blue suit and checkered shirt standing outdoors with a city skyline and water in the background.

    Markel Reed

    Thomas McKeller

  • Close-up headshot of a smiling young man with blue eyes and dark, curly hair, wearing a brown blazer over a black shirt.

    John Bellemer

    John Singer Sargent

  • Close-up portrait of a smiling woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a black top, against a dark background.

    Marnie Breckenridge

    Isabella Stewart Gardner

  • A woman with curly dark hair and blue eyes, wearing a sheer orange dress with long sleeves, sitting outdoors near a brick wall and green plants.

    Alexandra Armantrading

    Ida Mae McDonald

  • A young man with short dark curly hair, wearing a dark suit jacket and light shirt, standing outdoors with blurred greenery and golden trees in the background.

    Matt Hidalgo

    Nicola D’Inverno/Mr. Sparhawk

  • A woman with short, curly hair smiling outdoors, wearing a black and white patterned jacket with red, black, and white embroidered trim, and gold earrings. Background includes greenery and pink flowers.

    Leberta Lorál

    Florence McKeller/Mrs. Smithson

  • A smiling man in a tuxedo with a black bow tie, white shirt, and an earring on his left ear, standing inside a grand, elegant building with staircase and ornate architecture in the background.

    Philip Harris

    Willie McDonald

  • A smiling man with long dreadlocks, a beard, wearing a black blazer and a patterned shirt, standing in front of a storefront.

    Wilford Kelly

    Clarence/Emcee

  • Close-up portrait of a smiling man with a bald head, wearing a dark shirt, against a plain background.

    Michael Belle

    George

  • Smiling man with a shaved head and beard wearing a plaid shirt, brown vest, and patterned bowtie, against a colorful pink and green background.

    Alex Taite

    Walter

Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent

Life Inspires Art

A painting of a nude man sitting on a bench, looking upwards with a contemplative expression, with a background of abstract, earthy colors. Thomas McKeller
A pencil sketch of a seated man with long hair, wearing a draped garment, sitting cross-legged, inside a circular border. American Apollo

These images capture the remarkable but largely hidden collaboration between Thomas Eugene McKeller and the renowned painter John Singer Sargent. In early 20th-century Boston, McKeller—who worked as a hotel elevator operator—modeled for Sargent as the physical reference for many of the monumental male figures in the artist’s murals at the Boston Public Library and Museum of Fine Arts. While McKeller’s body shaped some of Sargent’s most celebrated images, his identity was largely erased as those figures were transformed into idealized white mythological gods. Their complex artistic partnership—one man seen, the other remembered—now inspires the opera American Apollo, which reimagines the human story behind the creation of these iconic works.

Learn More
Learn More
Black and white portrait of a man with a beard and mustache, wearing a suit, tie, and collared shirt, looking slightly to the side. John Singer Sargent
A painted portrait of a man with a beard and mustache, wearing a suit and tie, against a dark background. John Singer Sargent