Aging Magician is an epic opera-theater work written to help children understand the nature of death via the story of Harold, an old clockmaker writing a book about an aging magician in search of a young child to pass his knowledge on to. Creators Julian Crouch, Rinde Eckert, Paola Prestini, Mark Stewart and the Attacca Quartet created a set that can be played on as a giant instrument, bringing together the worlds of music, theater, puppetry, instrument making and scenic design to paint this poignant allegory on time, youth and the peculiar magic of ordinary life, or perhaps, the ordinary magic of peculiar life. Written for the Attacca Quartet and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who participated in a ten year journey to create the work: a culmination of education, professional development, and deep process work.

“The rich artistic elements of “Aging Magician” come together powerfully.”

– The New York Times

Con Alma is an operatic tableau on isolation adapted both as an album and a groundbreaking live digital experience, featuring original works alongside classic songs from the Mexican and Jazz songbook. It's the result of the impulses that arrested the minds and hearts of two extraordinary artists – gifted singer-songwriter Magos Herrera and composer Paola Prestini – at a time when they were prevented from being together alongside the broader community of fellow artists they work with regularly. A pioneering digital project during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, Con Alma incorporated cutting-edge technology to synchronize streamed performance during the groundbreaking streamed performance event that launched the album.

Deeply engaged...a genre-crossing blend of Mexican folk staples, American jazz standards and original musical meditations on isolation.

— The Washington Post

Houses of Zodiac is a sprawling, multidisciplinary masterwork by composer Paola Prestini, praised by the Wall Street Journal as an artist "known for pushing the boundaries of classical music." Prestini's expansive composition is brought to life by Jeffrey Zeigler (formerly of the Kronos Quartet) on solo cello, and co choreographers and dancers Georgina Pazcoguin (former New York City Ballet soloist) and Dai Matsuoka (Butoh dance master of Sankai Juku), as they move through some and space unfolding an emotionally-charged story of love, creation, guilt, and emancipation.  The work is site specific, and has been done at The Broad, Mass MoCA, Green-wood Cemetery, RomaEuropa, and can be designed for any space.

"One of the greatest and most ambitious solo cello albums of all time."

– Strings Magazine

Based on the best-seller by two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, Edward Tulane is an acclaimed opera for audiences of all ages, that takes us on a miraculous journey from the depths of the deep blue sea to the streets of Memphis. This is Paola's first grand opera, and she was the first woman to have been commissioned by the Minnesota National Opera for their New Works Initiative. With a libretto by Mark Campbell, this elegantly whimsical Minnesota original shows us a true miracle– that if you open your heart, you can find home.

"A production that can engage a multi-generational audience with its score, story and eye-popping visuals...Prestini's arias and orchestrations are a combination of simplicity and complexity."

– Minnesota Star-Tribune

Based on the Ernest Hemingway 1952 novella, this innovative adaptation of The Old Man and the Sea is the result of a collaboration between illustrious composer Paola Prestini, librettist Royce Vavrek, and conductor and stage director Karmina Šilec. Breathtakingly staged with eight pools of water enhanced with dynamic lighting, costumes, and sound, the performance combines the Hemingway text with original portraits of everyday life to create a look at aging, legacy, and our relationship to the ocean. Onstage you’ll hear music from longtime collaborators and muses of Prestini’s including Jeffrey Zeigler, and the cast brings to life the book’s pivotal characters: Santiago, Manolin, and the wife, rewritten as La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, a goddess in the Afro-Caribbean faith Santería found floating off the coast of Cuba in 1628. Direction by Karmina Šilec, libretto by Royce Vavrek, choreographer Sidra Bell and designer Dorian Silec, produced by Beth Morrison Projects, developed at Mass Moca. Electronics produced by and co-composed by Sxip Shirey. Commissioned by Arizona State University and Carolina Performing Arts.

Set within a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, the opera follows a pious husband and father, Johan, who’s strongly held spiritual obligation to his marriage, family, and community is put to the test when he falls in love with another woman from his faith. Premiered at National Sawdust in September 2024, Silent Light is a chamber opera with composition by Paola Prestini, libretto by Royce Vavrek, direction/design/concept by Thaddeus Strassberger and foley by Sxip Shirey. Commissioned by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, National Sawdust and VisionIntoArt. Finalist for Best World Premiere at the 2025 International Opera Awards.

Sensorium Ex is a groundbreaking new opera that explores the intersections of artificial intelligence (AI), disability, and the arts. Composed by Paola Prestini with a libretto by Brenda Shaughnessy, it features a predominantly disabled cast and a dystopian story about a mother and her nonverbal child. The opera uses custom-designed AI tools, developed with NYU's Ability Lab, to expand the expressive potential of voice for minimally verbal individuals. The visionary production pushes the boundaries of what it means to have a voice, paving the way for future artists with disabilities. Premiered May 2025, Sensorium Ex is by librettist Brenda Shaughnessy and acclaimed composer Paola Prestini, co-directed by Jerron Herman and Jay Scheib, with music direction by Elizabeth Askren. It is Commissioned by VisionIntoArt in association with Beth Morrison Projects and Common Senses Festival. Developed and Produced by VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects. Electronics produced by Sxip Shirey.

Sensorium Ex was developed and presented with support from the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, Jill and Bill Steinberg, National Sawdust, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation with additional support provided by the Allen R and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Music, Creative Capital, Alphadyne Foundation, Achelis & Bodman Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, the Atlantic Opera, the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. 

Premiered to sold-out performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Cloisters in New York City in January 2025, Primero Sueño is a processional opera, co-created by Paola Prestini, Magos Herrera and Louisa Proske, bringing to life the mythical poem of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - a 17th-century poet, scholar, and nun from Mexico, and one of the most enduring and influential writers of her era. She is also recognized as one of the first feminists of Latin America. Now beginning its world tour, the Primero Sueño opera was released as a digital album in October 2025 and is streaming on all platforms. Commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Live Arts (MetLiveArts) and VisionIntoArt (VIA).

PORT(AL) is an innovative choral theater experience that delves into the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, exploring its past as a bustling port and its evolution within the ever-changing tides of the city. Like a river carrying whispers of forgotten stories, the acclaimed Brooklyn Youth Chorus guides audiences through a confluence of song, movement, and immersive storytelling. Co-created by a team of renowned artists including Dianne Berkun Menaker, Paola Prestini, Jad Abumrad, and Jessica Grindstaff, PORT(AL) invites you to navigate the currents of time, where the echoes of history, the realities of the present, and the dreams of the future converge.