COMPOSER'S NOTES
A large part of my work revolves around opera and vocal music. I started out as a singer-songwriter. I had some opera training and later studied Indian raga singing. Only at home...I sing parts from baritone to mezzo and I do the soprano part with my head voice. What helps me the most is memorizing the sound of each and every unique voice I compose for.

Below are six neo-operas - the genre definition of these works is still controversial. For instance, Waking in New York was described by the New York Times (Kozinn) as "a lovely, effecting and affecting song cycle", and technically, that is correct, but the New York City Opera called it an opera when it featured it in the VOX festival. My neo-operas are operatic in their treatment of the voices and characters and the dramatic nature of the music, but the sound varies according to each piece, and can include computer-generated or other electronic tracks, or unusual combinations of instruments; antiquated plots are not to be found in their librettos; they can also integrate multimedia visual elements. The subjects deal with what some call the 4th dimension - collective consciousness beyond sensory perception, and often refer to a timesless perspective, but the emotions are human and intense. There are settings of Verlaine, Rilke, Allen Ginsberg, Michael Andre, Sumner Carnahan, and some of my own writing. In relation to story-based opera, my librettos are like Ellsworth Kelly vs. Michelangelo, or possibly even like Duchamp vs. Picasso.
Elodie Lauten

THE TWO-CENTS OPERA
Music, Libretto and Digital Imagery
Tenor, Baritone, Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Alto
Version for Chamber Orchestra / Electronic

The Two-Cents Opera Preview on Youtube

Closure from The Two-Cents Opera on Youtube

Crazy Time from The Two-Cents Opera on Youtube

WAKING IN NEW YORK
Portrait of Allen Ginsberg,
from the poetry of Allen Ginsberg
Baritone, Soprano, Mezzo Soprano
Versions for Chamber Orchestra and and for Full Orchestra

THE DEUS EX MACHINA CYCLE
or The Realm of Emotion & Experience / The Realm of the Unknowable
for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Countertenor, Baritone
and Baroque Ensemble

ORFREO
The Orphic Death of Ray Johnson
Libretto by Michael Andre
Countertenor, Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Bass Baritone
and Baroque Ensemble

Orfreo Overture on Youtube

THE DEATH OF DON JUAN
An exploration of the Don Juan myth
from a feminist perspective
Computer-generated tape, 4 Sopranos, Baritone

EXISTENCE
a playful journey through the history of consciousness
from an African perspective
Tenor, Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Narrator
Chamber Ensemble