‘Sima’ is a new opera set after the pogroms that followed the 1905 Russian Revolution

Next month, Theater for the New City will present Sima, a new opera by composer Leonard J. Lehrman, at its East Village location at 155 First Avenue, near 10th Street. According to the official synopsis, Sima tells the story of “the attempted adoption of a poor Jewish girl orphaned by a pogrom in 1905 Ukraine,” unfolding in the aftermath of the violence that followed the 1905 Russian Revolution.

The 90-minute opera will be staged in alternating performances between January 8, 2026, and January 25, alongside another Lehrman work, E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman. Sima will run on January 8, 11, 16, 17, and 22, with curtain times at 8pm on Thursdays through Saturdays and 3pm on Sundays.

Set after the pogroms, Sima centers on its namesake, a young Jewish orphan who is taken in by a wealthy family. Through this arrangement, the opera explores class-based and social tensions, as well as the lingering effects of violence and displacement. Themes of generational trauma and communal responsibility run throughout the work, grounding its historical setting in intimate family dynamics. This production is directed by Lissa Moira and features five principal performers, a chorus of ten and a 10-piece orchestra.

E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman shifts the focus to a later chapter in Jewish political history. Set in 1933, the music-theater biography imagines the legendary Russian Jewish American anarchist Emma Goldman as she attempts to re-enter the United States after having been deported in 1919. The piece combines musical numbers, spoken monologues, melodrama, historical photos, projections and audience interaction to create a multifaceted portrait of Goldman’s life and ideas.

Caryn Hartglass portrays Goldman, with Lehrman accompanying on piano and playing all the men in her life, including anarchist leader Alexander Berkman, who serves as a narrative counterpoint and chorus. Visual elements include 266 projections and a newsreel, operated by Janet Kalish.

Together, Sima and E.G. offer two distinct approaches to Jewish history and memory—one rooted in family and survival after pogroms, the other centered on political resistance, ideology and exile—presented through operatic and music-theater forms at Theater for the New City this January. Add them both to your winter to-do list.