A new opera set to premiere in 21 months has a lot of people watching already. “The combination of high-profile creators and a commission shared by three major companies – Opera Company of Philadelphia, Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit and Cincinnati Opera – could make the stakes high for all parties concerned. With luck, there will be national sponsorship to help defray the commission and development costs, plus the $4.8 million cost of the production, which will first be seen in May 2005 in Detroit and continue in July 2005 in Cincinnati and February 2006 in Philadelphia. With legs like that, the project is a likely candidate for PBS. But such matters are barely in the talking stage.”