Works
Constance, a Confession
Part IV: BAPTISM (full opera 90’; part iv 27’)
photo by Silin Chen
music by Jasmine Galante
Experiments in Opera’s Writers’ Room 4.0
Constance, a Confession is a journey following one woman’s devotion to the long art of the con. The opera starts with a surprising act of violence in a grad school art class, and continues as Constance finds work as a psychic, becomes a wellness influencer and grows her online empire into a cult — with deadly consequences.
We’re sorry to hear that
30’, SATB choir with 4 soloists using vocoder
music by zachary james ritter
commissioned & premiered 2026 with choral chameleon
We’re sorry to hear that is a study of the dehumanization that enables those in power to maintain distance from the tragedies they create. This piece depicts conversations between four soloists (with electronic harmonizer) and a bureaucratic customer service representative, played collectively by the choir.
My wife is a ghost
70’ - opera, 7 performers
music by bard college composition class
commissioned and premiered 2024 by bard college
Beginning with a Halloween seance, a teenager named Amelia and her friends conjure the spirit of Lizzie, the infamous ghost who haunts their town. When she appears, the teens are horrified – until they can’t get her to leave. Eventually, Amelia and her parents are forced to call Lizzie’s widower, who reveals the truth.
an ending
12’ - film opera, 2 performers
music by sam beebe
commissioned 2024 by strange trace
An ending is a dark comedy that follows a woman who is given a terminal diagnosis – and only 10 minutes left to live. It begins with the woman in the doctor’s office, receiving this news of her imminent mortality, and continues through her extremely brief attempt at making meaning of her life. But through precious time spent waiting for the doctor’s receptionist, voicemails left to her parents, and a meaningless argument with her girlfriend, she faces the banalities that often get in the way of the purposeful life we try to create for ourselves.
Daughter of God
60’ - opera, 1 performer
music by christopher bell
commissioned 2024 by LOAM ensemble
Leah, a Christian influencer fighting a decade-long battle with cancer, faces the end of her life and her empire. With her options for further treatment dwindling, she takes advantage of an innovative new technology: uploading her consciousness to an AI model named Thea to continue her work.
The Windows
opera (60’)
music by Elizabeth Gartman
based on the life and disappearance of barbara newhall follett
commissioned by guerrilla opera, premiere 2027-2028*
The Windows is a chamber opera based on the life and unsolved 1939 disappearance of writer Barbara Newhall Follett. Told through a ghost story, it is a first-person experience of the insanity brought on by oppression, and an exploration of what it means to escape.
It is a comfort to know
chamber opera (30’)
music by elizabeth gartman
commissioned and premiered 2022 by BMP: Next Gen
Initially inspired by the 1956 social and psychological study When Prophecy Fails, It is a Comfort to Know follows members of a death cult predict the end of the world, as foretold by their Leader. However, when that prophecy fails to deliver, they are faced with a decision: admit they are wrong, or choose to be right – no matter the cost.
Moritura Filia
chamber work
text by susan bywaters
music by elizabeth gartman
inspired by carissimi’s oratorio jephte
commissioned and premiered 2023 by ensemble chemie
Why won’t you let me look right at you?
chamber work
text by susan bywaters
music by jens ibsen
premiered august 2022 at sao paolo contemporary composers festival
The New Motive Power
chamber opera
music by elizabeth gartman, 60’
Inspired by the life of John Murray Spear, a Unitarian minister, abolitionist, and eventually spiritualist in antebellum New England. The text relies heavily on his verbatim dictations of the messages he heard from the spirits of the beyond. John and others believed this energy was spiritual, and that the new messiah, which he called “The New Motive Power”—would be born of electricity, a machine made of invisible wires that would connect and lead us all.
[weight], a song
text by susan bywaters
music by elizabeth gartman
performed in bmp: next gen cycle 2, round 1
cw: this work discusses body dysmorphia, eating disorders and self harm.
work sample below
when you leave me,
three songs
text by susan bywaters
music by elizabeth gartman
it is the end of time, a song
music by elizabeth gartman
text by susan bywaters
know, an opera
libretto by susan bywaters
based on the story of thomas bradford