Rome Is Falling: Alice Tully Hall  — July 13, 2025

Rome is Falling, conceived and composed by AMOC* bassist Doug Balliett, is a zany lesson on the absurdity of what can happen when influential people lose power. In his ever-prescient, ever-joyful way, Balliett brings audiences of all ages on a musical journey through a world that includes lollipops, an absurd number of characters, and an emperor with a chicken fetish.

Rome was one of the world's great civilizations, yet, like all empires, it fell. Why and how? The story is a mixture of politics, betrayal, immigration, religion, climate, pandemic, natural disaster, xenophobia, and bad luck–everything human and everything we face today.

Run AMOC* Festival
The American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*) is a leading force among today's most innovative and visionary interdisciplinary ensembles—recognized for producing deeply resonant and boundary-pushing art. This summer, AMOC*embarks on its most significant artistic endeavor to date with a bold slate of opera, dance, and music, creating an immersive landscape of art that redefines the festival experience. Performances will take place indoors and outdoors across Lincoln Center, moving fluidly between the spectacular and the intimate. Each production draws audiences into a realm where the lines between disciplines blur, celebrating the company’s audacious creativity and intimate approach to storytelling.