Described by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the most talented and intriguing of living composers,” Lori Laitman has composed multiple operas, choral works, and hundreds of songs, setting texts by classical and contemporary poets (including those who perished in the Holocaust).
Photo credit: Karjaka Studios
Textura.org's article Fresh Patterns provides a wonderful overview of Lori's work:
https://www.textura.org/archives/articles/freshpatterns_lorilaitman.htm
OperaWire’s interview with Lori on creating her fifth opera:
https://operawire.com/q-a-composer-lori-laitman-on-creating-her-fifth-opera-uncovered/
Selected Recent Projects
Uncovered
Uncovered is the story of Leah, a young lesbian who is drawn to the spiritual promise of the ultra-orthodox Hasidim, a Jewish sect. She defies her family, and hiding her true self, enters an arranged marriage. The couple raises seven children in lockstep with the community. But when exhausted Leah becomes pregnant again, she feels driven to abort the baby, certain that otherwise she won't survive. Afterwards, changed, she finds love with a woman. This timely opera that confronts fundamentalism and a woman's right to choose is based on Leah Lax's memoir Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home.
The Scarlet Letter
Opera Colorado presented the professional world premiere of the opera The Scarlet Letter by composer Lori Laitman and librettist David Mason in May 2016. Naxos released a CD of the live performance in August 2018 to critical acclaim: “Laitman is one of the most prolific and fluent song and opera composers of our time, with a gift for effortless melody and for getting to the emotional heart of her texts...”
The Three Feathers
The Three Feathers is a one-act children's opera commissioned by The Center for the Arts at VA Tech. Adapted from a Brothers Grimm tale by Dana Gioia, the opera presents a young female protagonist, Princess Dora, as its hero. A magic feathers leads the shy, self-doubting princess to an enchanted Underworld ruled by a giant Frog King. Here she summons her courage and compassion to face a series of mysterious and comic adventures that change her life.
Music of the Holocaust
To the left is a photo of the four Vedem “boys” — who travelled to Seattle, WA in May 2010 to attend the premiere of my oratorio Vedem. The oratorio was commissioned by Mina Miller and Music of Remembrance. The work tells the story of the boys of Terezin and their secret journal Vedem (Czech for “In the Lead”).
Photo credit: Leo Santiago
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