Directed by Louisa Proske, “The Extinctionist” tackles the frightening question of having a child in a world threatened by global warming. Praised by The New Yorker as “relevant and breathtaking,” the opera follows the story of a young Brooklyn couple as they confront a world in which the polar ice caps are melting and their city is imperiled by the rising sea levels. A woman wonders: What if saving the planet demands that she sterilize herself—becoming the first “Extinctionist”? In this dark comedy, a woman’s body becomes the battlefield of our political anguish, conflicting desires, and individual responsibility.
