Jessie Lyons - Rosśa Crean: The Priestess of Morphine (2021)

On THE PRIESTESS OF MORPHINE, composer Rosśa Crean and librettist Aiden K. Feltkamp create a beautifully haunting portrait of a Gertrud Günther, a young Jewish lesbian caught between her two selves during the Third Reich, who bravely sought her inner truth and passions while forced to live in the shadows.

The monodrama’s unusual story is matched by a unique ensemble. Two sopranos represent each side of Gertrud’s life—one mature and narrative, the other youthful and poetic—as the instruments weave unexpected textures and moods. The vibraphone is pushed to its musical limits to create unusual sounds, and the violin and cello float between traditional and percussive styles. Rounding out the ensemble’s ethereal sound is a brief yet powerful scene with the mysterious waterphone. The opera lulls listeners into a sensual, dreamlike state to explore the young woman’s suffocating trauma with an eye towards healing.