In February of 2009, in honor of the bicentennial of Joseph Haydn's death, Gotham Chamber Opera will present the New York City stage premiere of L'isola disabitata ( Desert Island ) in a new production staged by Mark Morris at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College.

L'isola disabitata is Mark Morris's first collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera.  The work, with a libretto by Metastasio, calls for four singers and a typical early classical orchestra, but neither chorus nor dancers. L'isola disabitata features sopranos Takesha Meshé Kizart and Valerie Ogbonnaya, tenor Vale Rideout, and bass-baritone Tom Corbeil, and is conducted by Neal Goren, artistic director of Gotham Chamber Opera. Set design is by Allen Moyer, costume design is by Liz Kurtzman and lighting design is by Michael Chybowski.