Creative Team
Composer
RICKY IAN GORDON
Poetry
FRANK BIDART
Director
EMMA GRIFFIN
Music Director
LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA
Scenic Design
LAURA JELLINEK
Lighting Design
JOSH EPSTEIN
Costume Design
KAYE VOYCE
Featuring
JENNIFER ZETLAN and NATHAN GUNN
RICKY IAN GORDON
FRANK BIDART
EMMA GRIFFIN
LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA
About
A remarkable operatic poem, Ellen West plunges into the emotional, psychological, and physical challenges of a woman struggling with perceptions of her body, her relationship with food, and the world closing in around her. Inspired by one of the earliest cases of existential analysis, poet Frank Bidart and composer Ricky Ian Gordon examine the lives of psychiatrist Ludwig Binswanger and his patient, Ellen West. Bidart’s poem, which serves as the opera’s libretto, juxtaposes the clinical observations of Binswanger with fictitious entries of Ellen’s journals, illuminating a psychological portrait of a woman at war with her body.
The poem Ellen West by Frank Bidart, which serves as the libretto for this opera, can be found here.
Support
Commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and Opera Saratoga. Lead Funding for Ellen West at Opera Saratoga generously provided by the Poetry Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Saratoga Foundation. The commissioning of Ellen Reid for Ellen West received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and the OPERA America Repertoire Development program, supported by The Opera Fund. Commissioned with generous leadership support from the Poetry Foundation, the Ted & Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund, David & Kiki Gindler, and the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts. Additional support for Community and Educational Programs to complement the premiere of Ellen West has been provided by MVP Healthcare and the Dake Family Foundation Stewart’s Shops.
![The West Coast premiere of TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD marked another successful addition to the rich legacy of collaborative efforts between Beth Morrison Projects and LA Opera (@laopera)! We're looking back at some of our favorite productions over the years to celebrate!
DOG DAYS - DOG DAYS marked the first production of the whirlwind partnership in 2015. Hailed by the New York Times as a riveting, soon-to-be “groundbreaking American classic,” the post-apocalyptic tragedy made waves at its LAO presentation and put BMP on the West Coast map.
P R I S M - P R I S M marked another milestone in our joint history. Not only did Ellen Reid’s (@ellenreidmusic) debut opera make its world premiere with LA Opera at REDCAT (@calartsredcat), but this collaborative project would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2019. It was a major development for BMP, LAO, and, of course, Ellen Reid, who “[took] her place among the host of promising young American opera composers” (The Financial Times).
ANGEL'S BONE - Another Pulitzer Prize-winning BMP production, ANGEL'S BONE, was planned as part of the 2020 season. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the presentation pivoted, becoming the first in our history to be presented digitally. The show was streamed by 20,000 people, demonstrating the strength and resilience of our bond with LAO.
TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD - Finally, Emma O’Halloran’s (@emmamohalloran) TRADE/Mary Motorhead made its West Coast premiere last month at REDCAT. We're thrilled to celebrate another year of BMP and LAO sharing boundary-pushing, cutting-edge opera with this incredible production starring Naomi Louisa O’Connell (@naomi_louisa_oconnell), Marc Kudisch (@marckudisch), and Kyle Bielfield (@bielfield)!](https://bethmorrisonprojects.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)