Mount Sinai Queens-Crescent Street Officially Opens, Signifying a New Era of Care in Queens

Updated on Apr 5, 2024 | Community, Featured

From left: Anna Kril,Eartha Washington, Rabbi Jonathan Pearl, Tiffany Echevarria, Jill Goldstein, Ken Long (behind), Donovan Richards, Cameron R. Hernandez, MD, Michael Gianaris, Lynn Schulman, Florence Koulouris, Amrita Gupte, David L. Reich, MD, Ricardo Bonitto, and Nancy Papaioannou

The opening of Mount Sinai Queens-Crescent Street, a new multispecialty care outpatient practice in Queens, underscores Mount Sinai’s commitment to improving health and its commitment to the community.

“Mount Sinai Queens-Crescent Street marks a transformative milestone in the delivery of care in Astoria and beyond,” says David Reich, MD, President of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens. “We are focused on enhancing the patient experience at Mount Sinai, and are committed to opening new facilities and increasing the range of advanced health care services we provide; and that is what we have done in our neighborhood.”

On Thursday, March 7, Mount Sinai Queens hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new outpatient practice.

Designed to enhance multispecialty care in a convenient state-of-the-art facility, Mount Sinai Queens-Crescent Street offers the latest diagnostic and treatment options and specialized care.

Services include heart care from the world-renowned Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital on the Second Floor and centers for hematology/oncology, gastroenterology, endocrinology/diabetes care, rheumatology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology) on the Third Floor.

The new practice features new accommodations, including spacious exam rooms, comfortable waiting areas, bathrooms, and beautiful modern fixtures in an accessible, easy-to-navigate building. In addition, the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department has a large gym that features new equipment, more privacy, and a bigger area, making it more accessible to patients.

“Our goal is to make this facility the destination for care in Queens,” says Cameron R. Hernandez, MD, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Mount Sinai Queens. “Mount Sinai Queens-Crescent Street will play a pivotal role not only in ensuring that community members—our neighbors—receive the care they deserve but also in creating an immersive and comprehensive health care experience for patients and clinical experts.”

Within the next year, a Mount Sinai retail pharmacy and Mount Sinai Express Care—an urgent care clinic associated with the hospital’s emergency room—will also open on the First Floor of the building.

Mount Sinai Queens is committed to providing the community of western Queens and beyond with the best outpatient, emergency, and inpatient medical care. Patients have access to a highly trained team of nearly 500 physicians representing almost 40 medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. The team of physicians, nurses, and support staff uphold the Mount Sinai tradition of excellence by providing high-quality, patient-centered care, delivered with compassion.

Attending the groundbreaking were the Mount Sinai Queens leadership team that includes Amrita Gupte, MD, MPH, MBA, Jill Goldstein, MA, MS, RN, Ellina Babar, Ricardo Bonitto, MBA, and Zachary Kee. They were joined by Dr. Reich; Donovan Richards Jr, Queens Borough President; Michael Gianaris, State Senator; Lynn Schulman, Council Member; and Tiffany Echevarria, Community Liaison for Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez.

Learn more about Mount Sinai Queens-Crescent Street or make an appointment

Alumni Kiran Nagdeo, BDS, MPH, Shares How Mount Sinai Enabled Her to Integrate Her Oral Health Experience Into a Public Health Career

Mar 29, 2024 | Community, Featured, School

Kiran Nagdeo, BDS, MPH

Kiran Nagdeo earned her BDS degree at D.Y. Patil University School of Dentistry in India and has eight years of clinical experience. She recently graduated from the Master of Public Health program, specializing in Global Health (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Why did you decide to study at Icahn Mount Sinai?

The main reason I chose Mount Sinai is because it’s one of largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area. That gives you hope that it will open multiple opportunities, which it did. Another big reason was that the location really mattered to me. Mount Sinai is located very close to Central Park, and close to the subway, which made commuting easier.

What attracted you to study Public Health? What about it inspires you?

I was a completely clinically oriented dentist, practicing in India, and I was happy—until COVID-19 hit. It was during the pandemic that I realized the importance of broader level or upscale interventions. I had been working on an individual level—patient-doctor one to one relationship—but if I was equipped back then, I could have helped and contributed on a bigger scale to support many more people. Around this time, I decided to pursue public health.

My love and passion for dentistry and oral health is strong, and I have embraced avenues for my continued interest in this area. I have learned that there isn’t a heavy focus on oral health in the public health sector. There are very few select professionals, who usually tend to have a dental background, who have contributed to dental public health.

My goal going forward is the integration of oral health in public health and to advance maternal and child health. Women are key change agents, and children are the future we are bringing this change about for.

What were some of your achievements as a master’s student?

During my time in the Graduate Program in Public Health, I am proud to have accomplished so much. This includes: Two full text publications with multiple under review and work in progress publications; attending four conferences with about ten presentations; participating in the global health summer research program, which included visiting Rikers Island for shadowing the dental team and the medical complex care services team; participating in a Community-based Participatory Research Program in Queens; honored with winning four awards; and being inducted into the Delta Omega honorary society.

What activities outside the classroom have contributed to your success?

I’ve been the most active with the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), and I owe all my success to Hyewon Lee, DMD, MPH, DrPH, the Chair of the Oral Health Workgroup (OHWG). She has elevated me and invested in my growth on a professional as well a personal level. I would not have been as successful or learned as much without her mentorship. I am currently the Vice Chair of the workgroup, directly under Dr. Lee’s leadership. I had my first ever publication with her, and first ever presentation at the largest public health conference, the American Public Health Association.

I’ve also participated in many research activities. I worked as a research assistant in Mount Sinai’s Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, which helped in my professional growth and development. I learned the basics of research thanks to my professor Maayan Yitshak-Sade, PhD, and Vishal Midya, PhD. They laid the foundation for my understanding in research.

I’ve been involved in several student organizations within Icahn Mount Sinai. This kind of exposure led me to gain more perspective as a graduate student in a medical school. I’ve held two positions in the student council in my time at Icahn Mount Sinai, most recently being the second year class representative for MPH. Along with that I’ve led five other organizations, while participating in many more. Even as a student, my strongest skill has been collaborations; I’ve collaborated with postdocs, medical students, MD/PhD students, different groups that I’m leading, and other student body structures, while leading the planning of multiple events. I’ve noticed how collaborations help us all bring our resources and friends together to have a much bigger event that is mutually beneficial.

I’ve also written for The Scoop, which is the MPH newsletter, on racism in public health. And written in the Helen journal about my unforgettable experience at the AADMD One Voice conference.I completed a student leadership in global oral health course with the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders (AOHAB). That led to working closely with the president of AOHAB, Deborah Weisfuse, DMD, MSc, and I now hold a leadership position of Program Director in the organization.

I’m currently a part of the American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) Dental Public Health Leadership Academy (DHPLA) as a student leader. I also hold leadership positions at APHA, as External Relations Co-Chair in the APHA Student Assembly, Student Fellow in the Maternal and Child Health Sections, and a member of the Scientific Planning Committee in the Oral Health Section. I’ve also had the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for Maya Korin, PhD, MS, and Laura MacIsaac, MD, MPH, for MPH students, and for Georgina Osorio, MD, MPH, and Gallane Abraham, MD, for Clinical Research Students.

What are your plans now that you have completed your degree?

I will be continuing my work as a research assistant in the Microbial Exposomics lab under the leadership of Dr. Midya and Shoshannah Eggers, PhD, in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Climate Science at Icahn Mount Sinai, in collaboration with the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa. I will be continuing my commitments at WFPHA, APHA, and AOHAB. I have been accepted and will be pursuing my PhD of Public Health in Epidemiology at New York University School of Global Public Health.

Learn more about the Master of Public Health Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Match Day 2024: Entering Specialties With Great Need

Mar 26, 2024 | Community, Featured, School

Fourth-year MD Icahn School of Medicine students receiving their placements on Match Day, Friday, March 15, from left to right: Amina Avril, Claire Ufongene, Candida Damian, Yhan Colón Ibán, and Charlotte Pierce.

Match Day represents a milestone for fourth-year medical students across the country—it’s when they receive their placements for the residency programs they’ve applied to. On Friday, March 15, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Class of 2024 congregated at the Guggenheim Pavilion for Match Day, and 133 students matched to 26 different specialties across the nation.

Michael Leitman, MD, Professor of Surgery, and Medical Education, at Icahn Mount Sinai, and Dean for Graduate Medical Education, observes Match Day closely because it reflects the physician pipeline. In several critical areas, he says, most notably the primary care specialties (internal medicine, general pediatrics, family medicine, and geriatrics) and psychiatry, the supply of new doctors entering these specialties is barely sufficient to meet demand.

“These are areas where we are seeing low match rates among students, and we suspect that students are gravitating towards careers in more lucrative specialties in part because they’re concerned about debt,” says Dr. Leitman.

According to the National Resident Matching Program, the organization conducting the Main Residency Match, for the Class of 2024 MD seniors, 87.8 percent of family medicine residency positions were filled, compared to most other programs, which were filled 100 percent—or close to. Pediatrics and psychiatry programs had unfilled positions in this year’s match too.

A 2021 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) forecasts a primary care physician shortage of 18,000 to 48,000 in 2034. The big problem this shortage creates is that primary care is where important screenings are done, such as hypertension.

Positions filled in specialties with high need: 2024 vs 2023

Specialty 2024 2023
Family Medicine 87.8% 88.7%
Pediatrics 91.8% 97.1%
Psychiatry 99.5% 99.0%

“In the areas that we serve at The Mount Sinai Hospital, which includes East Harlem, we have to think about the loss of family medicine doctors who will not be available to care for this population, which will only further reinforce the health care disparities we are working so hard to correct,” says Dr. Leitman.

“Although historically, students from Icahn Mount Sinai have matched to primary care fields at lower rates than other specialties, this year’s Match represented the highest number of students matching into primary care specialties,” says Tara K Cunningham, EdD, MS, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Medical Education, who leads the team responsible for career and residency advising at Icahn Mount Sinai. Last year, Dr. Cunningham says, two students entered pediatrics. “This year, a record-breaking 11 students are going into pediatrics.”

Icahn Mount Sinai’s Class of 2024 has more students placing into primary care and neurology than any other graduating class in school history. The most popular specialties for the class are internal medicine (28), pediatrics (11), anesthesiology (10), obstetrics (8), gynecology (8), neurology (7), ophthalmology (7), and psychiatry (7).

Two MD seniors entering residency programs in specialties with high need share their thoughts on their matches and what they hope to achieve in their respective fields.

Stephanie Ureña, Family Medicine program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center

What are your thoughts on your match, and tell me about the programs you applied for?

I am very happy with my result because this was my top choice. I wanted to stay in New York City and work with an underserved, majority-Hispanic population. I mostly applied to programs in New York City and Philadelphia because these are both places where I had a community. I was born and raised in the Bronx and this is where most of my immediate family is. I went to school at the University of Pennsylvania so I also had some friends there and some family that had also moved there.

What do you know about the challenges of the specialty you’re entering, and how do you think you might be able to overcome them?

I am going into family medicine and given the current medical system, there is never enough time for visits. Additionally, patients’ health is connected to social determinants of health and there are often not enough resources to keep patients healthy.

I plan on learning to prioritize pressing health issues for quick visits given the time crunch. I also plan on immersing myself into the community that I practice in so that I can learn about community resources that address some of their social determinants of health.

What inspired you to go into medicine in the first place?

I had a really awesome pediatrician growing up who was my constant cheerleader. I remember looking forward to his visits because he just wanted to catch up on life and would always teach me ways to stay healthy. Then as I grew up, I realized how much I liked science and was fascinated by the human body so I decided to continue to pursue a path in medicine.

What impact do you hope to achieve in your specialty?

For family medicine, I hope to continue to provide patient-centered health care and expand on my knowledge of community resources. I would ideally like to have a system in which I refer my patients to community resources that address their social determinants of health. I would also like to create more pipeline programs that bring students from the local community into medical schools that are in their community. I envision myself joining a community board and advocating for the community needs.

Candida Damian, Pediatrics/Psychiatry/Child Psychiatry Triple Board program at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital

What are your thoughts on your match, and tell me about the programs you applied for?

I am very excited. There are only 11 Triple Board programs in the country, so I am super grateful to have matched. Since there are limited triple board positions, I applied for categorical psychiatry positions as well. I wanted to match into a Triple Board program because I am deeply passionate about the intersection of pediatrics and psychiatry, and am drawn to the diversity of experiences and the unique skill set that Triple Board training offers.

What do you know about the challenges of the specialty you’re entering, and how do you think you might be able to overcome them?

Entering a Triple Board program presents the challenge of navigating multiple specialties and wearing different hats, requiring adaptability and flexibility. I plan to overcome this by really leaning into my training and always asking for help.

There is a huge need, especially, for child psychiatrists. Mental health in children is a public health crisis. Entering a field with a high, under-met need is both daunting and inspiring. It underscores the urgency and importance of my chosen path. I see it as an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on individuals and communities who are underserved and often marginalized. By entering these fields, I aim to contribute to closing the gap in access to quality health care and improving outcomes for those in need.

What inspired you to go into medicine in the first place?

It has been my childhood dream to become a doctor. However, due to many external factors, I had believed a profession in medicine was just too far out of my reach. The idea of attending college was daunting enough, not to speak of attending medical school. I was committed to providing compassionate care for patients, so I channeled my energy into going to nursing school.

I will never forget the day as a third-year nursing student that I met a 16-year-old patient who confided in me about the events that led up to her being admitted into the psychiatric hospital. She had dreams of going to college and becoming a marine biologist. However, the external hardships she faced made her doubtful that she could accomplish her goals. She told me, “You know more about me than the doctors here do. I feel like I can tell you anything.”

We could relate to each other, we had similar upbringings, and I learned that just my presence alone was able to give patients that feeling of safety they often lacked. I recognized that all of the reasons that led me to believe I could not become a physician were actually the reasons why I needed to become a physician.

That patient’s story and trust in me during my nursing rotation helped me believe, for the first time, that becoming a physician was attainable. My determination to make a difference outweighed the fear. That day, I Googled “How to get into medical school” and the rest was history.

What impact do you hope to achieve in your specialty?

In my specialty,

2024 Jacobi Medallion Award Ceremony

Updated on Mar 25, 2024 | Community, Featured, Research

Seated, from left: Helen M. Fernandez, MD, MPH, MSH ’01; Marla C. Dubinsky, MD; Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD; Roxana Mehran, MD, MSH ’95; and Stephen Harvey, CPA, MBA. Standing, from left: Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Stuart A. Aaronson, MD; Peak Woo, MD; Mark Kostegan, FAHP; Kirk N. Campbell, MD; Sandra K. Masur, PhD, FASCB; Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System; and Leo M. Keegan, MD, MSSM ’86, MSH ’94. Not pictured: Jeremy H. Boal, MD, MSH ’96

The Mount Sinai Alumni Association and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai presented accomplished physicians, researchers, educators, and administrators with the 2024 Jacobi Medallion, one of Mount Sinai’s highest awards. The annual ceremony was held Thursday, March 14, at the Plaza Hotel.

The recipients of the Jacobi Medallion have made exceptional contributions to the Mount Sinai Health System, Icahn Mount Sinai, the Mount Sinai Alumni Association, or the fields of medicine or biomedicine.

Watch the ceremony

View the digital program

Watch the In Memoriam video

Stuart A. Aaronson, MD

Founding Chair Emeritus, Department of Oncological Sciences

Jane B. and Jack R. Aron Professor of Neoplastic Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Associate Director for Basic and Translational Research, The Tisch Cancer Institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center

Watch a video of Dr. Aaronson

Jeremy H. Boal, MD, MSH ’96

Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, Mount Sinai Health System, and President of Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Downtown until December 2023

Department of Population Health Science and Policy

Watch a video of Dr. Boal

Kirk N. Campbell, MD

Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology

Professor of Pharmacological Sciences

Founding Director of the Center for Kidney Disease Innovation

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Dr. Campbell

Marla C. Dubinsky, MD

Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital

Co-Director of the Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center

Co-Director of the IBD Preconception and Pregnancy Planning Clinic at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Dr. Dubinsky

Helen M. Fernandez, MD, MPH, MSH ’01

Vice Chair of Education, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Dr. Fernandez

Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD

Waldman Professor of Dermatology and Immunology

Health System Chair of the Department of Dermatology

Director, Center for Excellence in Eczema and the Laboratory for Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Dr. Guttman-Yassky

Stephen Harvey, CPA, MBA

Chief Financial Officer, Mount Sinai Health System

Watch a video of Mr. Harvey

Mark Kostegan, FAHP

Chief Development Officer and Senior Vice President for Development at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Mr. Kostegan

Roxana Mehran, MD, MSH ’95

Professor of Medicine

Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Trials, Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Dr. Mehran

Peak Woo, MD

Clinical Professor, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Watch a video of Dr. Woo

Learn more about Alumni at Mount Sinai

The Center for Advanced Medical Simulation at Mount Sinai West Hosts Annual Tristate Regional Simulation Symposium May 17

Updated on Nov 19, 2025 | Artificial Intelligence, Community, Research

The Center for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS) at Mount Sinai West is hosting its pioneering annual Tristate Regional Simulation Symposium. The symposium is scheduled for Friday, May 17, from 11 am to 2 pm, using a live online format.

The theme for this eighth annual symposium is “Embracing Change: How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Can Influence Health Care Simulation.” The symposium will include plenary talks, data-driven presentations, and panel discussions.

“Together, we will explore AI possibilities to enhance patient safety, team performance, and outcomes in simulation-based education and powerfully affirm everything that is most striking about simulation that we do at our institutions and worldwide,” said Priscilla V. Loanzon, EdD, RN, CHSE, Director of Simulation Education, Center for Advanced Medical Simulation, and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Since the pandemic, the format for the symposium has changed from a full-day onsite and in-person conference to a three-hour live online. The target audience has expanded over the years from regional to national and international. Attendees can earn credits for continuing medical education and continuing education units.

CAMS is one of the Mount Sinai Health System’s outstanding simulation centers, all dedicated to improving patient safety, communication, and medical education. It provides health care training opportunities to professionals in the safe learning environment of a lab setting, offering courses that include case-based simulation, in-situ simulation, and procedural training such as point of care ultrasonography, central line training, blood culture competency, medical code response, managing mechanically ventilated patients, and advanced airway management. The Center includes three simulation laboratories, a virtual-reality training arcade, and two conference rooms. All areas of CAMS are equipped with audiovisual and video-recording equipment to facilitate education, training, debriefing, and research and quality improvement projects.

The Center, accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), is working with the Continuing Medical Education Department, Mount Sinai’s Office of Corporate Compliance and Office of Development.

To learn more about the symposium, contact Dr. Loanzon at priscilla.loanzon@mountsinai.org or call 212-523-8698.

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare declared September 11-15, 2017, as an inaugural simulation week with a focus on celebrating the professionals who work in health care simulation to improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care.

“CAMS invited the simulation centers in the tristate area to a joint celebration through a symposium,” said Dr. Loanzon. “This inaugural celebration was intended to powerfully affirm the tristate region’s successes, opportunities, and myriad possibilities to be the best in what we do so well individually and collectively.”

Learn more about the Center for Advanced Medical Simulation

New Opera on a Gender-Affirmation Pioneer Is Authored by Mount Sinai Neuroradiologist

Updated on Nov 14, 2025 | Community, Engagement, Featured

A new opera, Lili Elbe, tells the story of one of the earliest recipients of gender-affirming surgery in 1930. The opera is a collaboration of Grammy Award-winning composer Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman, MD, a neuroradiologist at Mount Sinai, who wrote the story and lyrics. Photos: Edyta Dufaj

“It’s a love story,” says Aryeh Lev Stollman, MD, a neuroradiologist at Mount Sinai, and the librettist for a new opera, Lili Elbe, which tells the story of one of the earliest recipients of gender-affirming surgery, in 1930. The opera, commissioned by the Theater St. Gallen of Switzerland, was named “Best World Premiere of 2023” at the OPER! AWARDS ceremony on January 29 at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam.

Lili Elbe focuses on a successful Danish painter who was married to another painter, Gerda Wegener. Though their marriage was eventually annulled by the King of Denmark and Lili’s name and sex were legally changed, they remained in love with each other. Lili’s case drew international attention, and a semi-autographical account of her story was captured in a book, Man Into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. Another book, The Danish Girl, was loosely based on her story and has become an important text in LGBQT+ literature and the basis for a film.

“We based our story on historical sources,” emphasizes Dr. Stollman. “The Danish Girl was highly fictionalized. But Lili Elbe was quite famous in her day, so we relied on her own writings and news accounts from the time.”

The opera Lili Elbe, in addition to being acclaimed for its artistry, is a significant milestone. It stars Lucia Lucas, a baritone, in the first grand opera for and about a person with trans experience. The Grammy Award-winning composer Tobias Picker, who is married to Dr. Stollman, befriended Lucia when he cast her in Don Giovanni in a Tulsa Opera production—the first time a transgender singer had played the leading role in an American opera. Mr. Picker, Dr. Stollman, and Lucia wanted to collaborate on an original project, and the story of Lili Elbe was chosen.

Tobias Picker, left, and Aryeh Lev Stollman, MD, taking a bow after a performance of the new opera at the Theater Saint Gallen in Switzerland. “This resonates with our work as physicians, health care workers, and support staff, because behind our work is love for humanity,” says Dr. Stollman. “We serve people, no matter their physical appearance, their background, or gender identity. And we do it through all types of difficult times and situations.”

“Tobias asked me to write the libretto—or the story and lyrics,” Dr. Stollman says. “But I worked very closely with Lucia as the dramaturg, to gain the insight of her experience and authenticity.” This is the second time Mr. Picker and Dr. Stollman have collaborated. The first was the inspiring opera Awakenings, based on the story of Oliver Sacks, MD, and his efforts to treat patients with sleeping sickness. That opera opened in June 2022 at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

“Like Awakenings, we wanted Lili Elbe to have a mythic undercurrent,” Dr. Stollman says. “In Awakenings, we used the story of Sleeping Beauty. In Lili Elbe, the myth of Orpheus leading his lover, Eurydice, out of the underworld is a motif that reoccurs. I believe that myths have a strong emotional truth. In the myth, Orpheus is saying, ‘Don’t look back, you cannot return to your old life, but you are coming into a new life.’ And our characters are always moving to the future, to a new life, a new realization. And that’s the mythological underpinning.”

Lili Elbe discovers her true nature as a woman when her wife, Gerda, asks her to stand in for a female model who was delayed for a painting session. Gerda is entranced with the beauty of her husband, then called Einar Wegener, and it is she who bestows the name Lili. And as Lili embraces her identity, she says, “When you paint me now, I feel I have always been her.” Lili becomes a muse to Gerda, whose paintings of Lili win acclaim. But Gerda wrestles with how much space to allow Lili in their marriage. At first, she insists that Lili transition back to Einar in the evening. But as Lili makes her true identity known among their circle of friends, Lili wants to experience all the feelings of womanhood, including marriage and motherhood. And even though their marriage is annulled and they become involved with other lovers, their love for each other endures.

Lili becomes engaged to Claude LeJeune, a young man whose passion is creating perfumes from flowers through a delicate process called enfleurage. The symbolism of the flowers living on becomes a motif as Lili dies as a result of complications of one of her surgeries. And the life and story of Lili Elbe still resonate today.

“The opera is more than about love with a transgender person,” Dr. Stollman says. “It’s about love and transcending difficulties. It’s about a tragic heroine’s journey that starts with self-knowledge. And it’s about loss, because Gerda loses Lili. But also because Lili dies in the end, as many tragic heroines do.”

The staging and choreography of the opera are innovative, witty, and symbolic. As Gerda exhibits her paintings of Lili, they are symbolized by actors suspended above the stage, swirling in evocative poses. The prominent German newspaper Die Welt gave it an enthusiastic review, calling it “emotionally gripping, a delicate work of musical theater that unfolds as an Art Nouveau arc, amidst a bright, symbolist stage.” A leading Austrian paper, the Voralberger Zeitung, called it “an emotionally charged masterpiece.”

Dr. Stollman related the theme of love transcending all to the mission of Mount Sinai, which was founded to care for underserved people and is home to the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, a world leader in gender-affirming care. “This resonates with our work as physicians, health care workers, and support staff, because behind our work is love for humanity. We serve people, no matter their physical appearance, their background, or gender identity. And we do it through all types of difficult times and situations.”

View the trailer here
Watch the full opera, courtesy of OperaVision, co-sponsored by the European Union, through June 8, 2024
Read about an earlier collaboration that produced the opera Awakenings, which made its debut in June 2022