The Eighth Daughter (2010)

Duration: ca. 17′
Instrumentation: 4 voices, flute, cello or bass viol, piano
Composed for Kallisti Ensemble’s Instant Operas Project in 2010
Score

According to Japanese legend, Susano, the Shinto deity of storms, saves a family from a terrible eight-headed serpent who was devouring each of their daughters in turn. In return, the family gives Susano their only remaining daughter in marriage, and he is praised for his great deed. What legend does not address is whether the parents, not knowing that help will come, can cope with the imminent loss of their eighth and final daughter, and whether Kushinada, the remaining daughter, is able to accept this sacrificial role she did not choose for herself.

The Eighth Daughter addresses these questions in four scenes that provide windows into the world of a desperate family facing the seemingly inevitable.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY

November 13, 2015 – Gainesville, FL
University of Florida Opera Theatre
Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference

November 2010 – La Jolla, CA (world premiere)
Kallisti Ensemble