Six composers and librettists are among the artists selected for the second year of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ (OTSL) acclaimed New Works Collective.
The collective, which was first announced in early 2022, aims to disrupt the traditional commissioning model for opera companies by giving decision-making power to a panel of community members.
The 2024 creative cohort of New Works Collective comprises of three works touching on a wide variety of topics such as friendships forged through grief, neurodivergence and disability, and Black life and motherhood, and includes an opera set in urban St. Louis.
“Our biggest goal with the New Works Collective was to create an inclusive pipeline for identifying and nurturing creative talent, and this new cohort promises to be more thrilling than we could have hoped,” said Anh Le, director of marketing and PR for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. “These talented artists are joining us from all over the country, as well as from St. Louis, to tell stories that are wholly new in opera and to build new collaborative relationships with one another.”
The three teams are made up of composer Jasmine Barnes and librettist Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton; composer J.E. Hernández and librettist Marianna Mott Newirth; and composer Ronald Maurice and librettist J. Mae Barizo.
The teams will work closely with stage director Kimille Howard throughout the development process, collaborating with OTSL’s artistic leadership and staff to develop and workshop their 20-minute operas. While written independently of one another, all three pieces will be performed back-to-back as one suite of works in early March 2024.
The first work of the 2024 New Works Collective is “On My Mind” by Jasmine Barnes and Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton. It tells the story of Lyric and Melody, who are caregivers during their grandmother’s and mother’s final days. As both women struggle to balance the toll of supporting a loved one, they lean on their friendship for strength, allowing them to be vulnerable and defying the stereotype that every Black woman must be strong. Instead, they build an indelible bond of sisterhood.
The second opera, “Mechanisms,” is by J.E. Hernández and Marianna Mott Newirth. “Mechanisms” is about a neurodivergent child and her inner experience as the outer world attempts to force behavioral conformity upon her, missing the greater insight she has into what humanity is becoming. The opera addresses questions of conformity, disability and emergent strategy to reframe a world of possibilities.
The final work is “Unbroken” from St. Louis native Ronald Maurice, who composed the opera alongside librettist J. Mae Barizo. Set in urban St. Louis, “Unbroken” follows the resilient journey of a single mother and her three sons. A meditation on motherhood, Black life and the histories that bind, “Unbroken” is a moving portrait of a city and its intergenerational ties, a testament to familial links that are challenged and survive.
“The New Works Collective is about making an investment in our community,” Le said. “These artists and stories were chosen by St. Louisans and will be performed for St. Louisans 11 months from now. We want our community to feel ownership of our company and to feel seen on our stage.”
New Works Collective premiered its inaugural year last month to great acclaim and sold-out performances at COCA. Comprised of artists, arts leaders, storytellers, activists and others from backgrounds historically underrepresented in opera, the 10-member collective is tasked with selecting three new projects each year through 2025 for OTSL to develop, workshop and premiere.
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