Produced in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects, the opera will be performed at The Wallis (November 5 through 9)

(Los Angeles) October 8, 2025 — From November 5 through 9, 2025, LA Opera and The Wallis will present the world premiere of Hildegard,   the first opera by composer/librettist Sarah Kirkland Snider, as part of the LA Opera Off Grand initiative. This highly anticipated world premiere marks LA Opera's 17th innovative collaboration with the pioneering Beth Morrison Projects, hailed as “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” (Financial Times).

Directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, with immersive visual projection design by Deborah Johnson, the opera follows German Benedictine abbess/polymath/composer St. Hildegard von Bingen as she receives visions from God. At grave risk of excommunication, she sets out to document her visions, enlisting a fellow nun to illustrate the manuscript. As they develop a transformative partnership that awakens them in ways both profound and unexpected, the two women must confront the powers that would see them erased from history rather than making it.

Performance Dates, Times and Ticket Info
There will be four performances of Hildegard presented at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis), located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

• Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 7:30pm
• Thursday, November 6, 2025, at 7:30pm
• Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 2pm

Tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or at TheWallis.org. For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.

More information is available at LAOpera.org/Hildegard.

About Hildegard
The year is 1147, and abbess Hildegard von Bingen has begun transcribing her visions of God, at the risk of excommunication. She enlists Richardis von Stade to illustrate these visions, and the two women quickly develop a partnership that awakens them creatively, spiritually, and—troublingly—romantically. Their sacred work faces upheaval when Hildegard’s superior forbids her and her fellow nuns from making music, threatening her standing within the Church.

Based on the writings of the real-life Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), Hildegard examines the tension between spiritual calling and human constraint, capturing the struggle of two gifted women determined to make their voices heard in a world that sought their silence.

After the Los Angeles performances, the opera will be presented at the Prototype Festival in New York (January 9-17, 2026), with subsequent performances at the Aspen Music Festival and School (summer 2026).

Sarah Kirkland Snider and Hildegard
Sarah Kirkland Snider is both the composer and librettist of Hildegard, her first opera. She chose to write the libretto herself so that she could develop the text and music simultaneously, and because she had a clear idea of how she wanted to tell Hildegard’s story.

“I have chronic migraine, and first learned about Hildegard von Bingen through reading Oliver Sacks’ book Migraine, in which Sacks popularized a theory suggesting that Hildegard’s visions were a result of migraine," said Snider. "I immediately wanted to know more. Thus began a 25-year fascination with Hildegard – her music, visions and astonishing story. I was awestruck by her triumph over self-doubt, illness and the otherwise impenetrable social barriers of her time to become the first woman in the history of the Catholic Church to speak and write in the name of God. I wanted to share this story while exploring aspects of her philosophy and the more mysterious realm of her visions, and I thought it would be interesting to do this through the prism of her relationship with fellow nun Richardis von Stade, with whom she shared an impassioned yet complicated love. Opera is an art form that excites me most when it deals with complex, layered emotions. I wanted to explore not only the struggle for intellectual and artistic expression in an oppressive environment, but also what happens when the human desire for connection comes into conflict with socially conditioned notions of right and wrong. Hildegard overcame extraordinary obstacles to lead a self-directed, creatively expansive life. I hope that my treatment of her story will resonate with anyone who has chafed against power structures or societal norms in pursuit of living their authentic truth.”

Sarah Kirkland Snider’s music has been commissioned and/or performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Will Liverman, among many others. Recent works include Forward into Light, an orchestral commission for the New York Philharmonic inspired by American women suffragists; Drink the Wild Ayre, the final commission by the legendary Emerson String Quartet; Mass for the Endangered, programmed by dozens of choirs the world over; and Embrace, an orchestral ballet for the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Click here to download a photo of Sarah Kirkland Snider.

Cast and Creative Team
Beth Morrison is the creative producer of Hildegard, which is directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer and conducted by music director Gabriel Crouch. The cast includes soprano Nola Richardson (Hildegard von Bingen), soprano Mikaela Bennett (Richardis von Stade), soprano Raha Mirzadegan (Angel), mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert (Margravine von Stade), tenor Roy Hage (Volmar), tenor Patrick Bessenbacher (Mechthild), baritone David Adam Moore (Abbot Cuno) and bass Paul Chwe MinChul An (Otto). The creative team comprises scenic designer Marsha Ginsberg, costume designer Molly Irelan, lighting designer Pablo Santiago, projection designer Deborah Johnson, sound designer Drew Sensue-Weinstein and dramaturg Annie Jin Wang.

“The piece is a blend of influences inspired by medieval religious paintings and iconography, and Hildegard’s own artwork put through a filter of minimalist, modern design," said director Elkhanah Pulitzer. "We emphasize symbolic representation and spirituality while breaking with some of the tropes one carries in mind associated with monastic life in the 12th century. The veil between what is real and what lies in the realm of mystery and metaphor is also celebrated in the work, inspired by Hildegard’s visions.”

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Under the leadership of Christopher Koelsch (Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO) and James Conlon (Richard Seaver Music Director), LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling. In addition to its mainstage productions at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

About The Wallis
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) was lauded by Culture Vulture: “If you love expecting the unexpected in the performing arts, you have to love The Wallis.” Broadway legend Patti LuPone described the venue as “one of the best in the country, allowing for an unparalleled intimacy between [the artist] and the audience.”   Since its doors opened in 2013, The Wallis, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and international performers share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. Distinguished by eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented nearly 500 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, comedy, performance arts and family entertainment programs, boasting nominations for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards, as well as six architectural awards. Learn more at TheWallis.org.

About Beth Morrison Projects
Founded in 2006, Beth Morrison Projects quickly grew from an industry disruptor to a leader and tastemaker at the forefront of musical and theatrical innovation by commissioning, developing, producing and touring the groundbreaking new works of living composers and their collaborators. BMP's 2014 bi-coastal expansion to Los Angeles sprang from growing partnerships and relationships with institutions such as LA Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Ford, Center Theatre Group, Broad Stage and RVCC. BMP has produced 185 performances on five continents since 2018, and its commitment to cutting edge musical expression has created “its own genre” (Opera News) of originality. Learn more at BethMorrisonProjects.org.

LA Opera Media Contact
Marlene Meraz
Director of Communications
mmeraz@laopera.org
213.972.7554

LA Opera Off Grand productions are supported by a consortium of generous donors to LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative, chaired by Barry and Nancy Sanders.

Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl.

Co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and the Aspen Music Festival and School

LA Opera is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community.