The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

Saturday, October 31 at 7:30pm | Gala Performance
Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm
Saturday, November 7 at 7:30pm
Sunday, November 8 at 2pm

MUSIC BY KAMALA SANKARAM
LIBRETTO BY MINITA GANDHI

Reincarnated. Resolute. Revolutionary.

When the goddess of Death is cast down to Earth to live as a mortal named Laila Starr, the boundaries between the divine and the human begin to blur in this vivid, transporting world premiere from Kamala Sankaram and Minita Gandhi. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr was commissioned and developed through Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel by Ram V and Filipe Andrade. Infused with elements of Konnakol, Raga, and EDM, this fantasy on purpose and impermanence unfolds with both kinetic energy and striking clarity, as a god made mortal begins to see the world—and life itself—through fresh eyes.

Sung in English with English captions projected above the stage.

Location

Ordway Music Theater
345 Washington St
St Paul, MN 55102


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Based upon the BOOM! Studios graphic novel, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V. and Filipe Andrade. Adapted through special arrangement with BOOM! Studios. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is ™ & © 2022 Ram V.

Composer Biography

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Kamala Sankaram

Praised as “one of the most exciting opera composers in the country” (–The Washington Post), composer Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of contemporary opera, experimental music and sound art…

Librettist Biography

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Minita Gandhi

Minita Gandhi is a Los Angeles based librettist/writer/actor who was born in Mumbai, India. They are a multi-hyphenate artist whose written work often engages with magic realism and dark comedy to explore…

About the Graphic Novel

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Ram V is the award-winning author and creator of comics & graphic novels such as The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Rare Flavours, Dawnrunner, the Eisner winning Blue in Green and The One Hand & Six Fingers.

Filipe Andrade is a Portuguese multi-disciplinary visual artist. Graduated in Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, he has collaborated and published with BOOM! Studios, Marvel, Passion Studios, and Riot Games.

Synopsis

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Prologue
A nebulous and ethereal world, a shoreline just out of reach softly brushes our ears with the rise and fall of the tide. Is it the ocean or the muffled chorus of relentless sorrow? A sea of lost souls drowning in unfulfilled mortal desire. We catch a glimpse of the GODDESS OF DEATH. Her long, dark hair dances around her in the wind. Her arms open wide and her chest lifts toward the sky…

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