Shows & Tickets > 2026–2027 Season > The Many Deaths of Laila Starr > How We Got Here

How We Got Here

Later this month, the curtain will rise on the world premiere of Kamala Sankaram and Minita Gandhi’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. It will be a special moment in many ways—the opening of a new season, the second world premiere from MN Opera’s New Works Initiative creative cohort, and the first opera by a female, South Asian creative team. It will also be the culmination of a process that kicked off in January 2024, when Sankaram and Gandhi, working together with MN Opera’s Artistic Planning Team, secured the rights to adapt author Ram V and artist Filipe Andrade’s work.

Opening Night will also be the start of a new journey for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, because as soon as it is released into the world, this vivid, transporting work will begin to take on a life of its own. It wasn’t long ago that another New Works Initiative commission—Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night—was coming to life in this very same space. Fifteen years later, after a Pulitzer Prize and performances across the country, it is set to debut at The Metropolitan Opera for the first time, a staple of the American operatic repertoire.

So, in preparation for the world premiere of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, let’s look back at some of the milestones that brought us here.

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October 18, 2024

Public Announcement

MN Opera and BOOM! Studios publicly announced the project, marking the first-ever adaptation of this kind. “It’s an honor to have one of the most acclaimed graphic novels that BOOM! Studios has ever published, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, make history by becoming the first graphic novel to be adapted as an opera,” said Stephen Christy, President of Development for BOOM! Studios.

Reactions on social media were overwhelmingly positive as fans of the book and opera lovers across the country anticipated the new work.

September 2025

Piano Workshop

Sankaram and Gandhi visited the Twin Cities in September 2025 to spend a week rehearsing and workshopping an early draft of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, scored for just piano and voices.

Working in collaboration with members of the MN Opera Artistic and Production teams as well as a cast of singers, they were able to test out certain ideas and gain valuable feedback on elements including text setting and the overall story arc.

May 21, 2026

First Listen

Photo by Tim Evans

Having digested and implemented feedback from the Piano Workshop, the next step for Sankaram was to orchestrate the piano-vocal score for the full forces of the MN Opera Orchestra.

The team gathered again in May 2026, immediately following the conclusion of MN Opera’s run of Pagliacci, to work through a new version. After a week of rehearsals with singers and the MN Opera Orchestra and Chorus focused on ensemble balance and pacing, the company presented a First Listen at the Luminary Arts Center, led by Principal Conductor Christopher Franklin.

August 25–28, 2026

Choreography Workshop at Juilliard

Photos by Elyse Mertz

One critical element of translating the graphic novel from the page to the operatic stage: Movement. From the bustling streets of Mumbai to the beaches of Goa, Ram V and Filipe Andrade’s story is action-packed.

This past August, Stage Director Mary Birnbaum convened Choreographer Rohit Gijare, Associate Stage Director Miriam Laube, Production Stage Manager Luci Burdick, and a team of dancers to workshop the choreography that will play a key role in realizing the world of the graphic novel for audiences at the Ordway.

Working in a rehearsal room at the Juilliard School in New York City, Birnbaum, Laube, Gijare, and a team of dancers worked to a recording from the First Listen, forming the choreography that will imbue the onstage world with a sense of scale and vibrancy.

September 19, 2026

Offstage Event at Mind’s Eye Comics

Photo by Imani Mansfield

Preparations for this world premiere have involved every corner of MN Opera. With just over a week before the start of rehearsals, Audience Development and Civic Engagement Manager Allison Lewis partnered with Mind’s Eye Comics in Saint Paul to host an Offstage Event diving into the process of transforming artistic inspiration from a blank page to the final product.

Beginning with a presentation by local artist and illustrator Sishir Bommakanti on the process that goes into illustrating graphic novels, the event also featured a panel discussion by Lewis, Bommakanti, Eric Childs (owner of Mind’s Eye), Genie Hien Tran (local artist and MN Opera’s Senior Graphic Designer), and Isaac Mayhew (local composer and MN Opera’s Associate Director of Marketing and Communications).

Attendees explored the parallels between music and visual art and also had the opportunity to work on submissions to MN Opera’s Cover Contest for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.

September 28, 2026

Rehearsals Begin

Rehearsals for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr began on September 28.

Artists, designers, craftspeople, and staff gathered at the Opera Center for a meet-and-greet and to hear from the composer, librettist, and design team and the cast began to work their way through the score for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, an opera years in the making.

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The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
October 31 – November 8

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