Creative Team
Composer
KAMALA SANKARAM
Librettist
SUSAN YANKOWITZ
Director
RACHEL DICKSTEIN
Music director
STEVE OSGOOD
KAMALA SANKARAM
SUSAN YANKOWITZ
RACHEL DICKSTEIN
STEVE OSGOOD
About
Thumbprint is inspired by the extraordinary transformation of Mukhtar Mai, a young woman whose world was shattered by an act of brutality that could have destroyed her. Instead, she discovers a weapon—her voice—and against all odds, to the astonishment of her country and herself, she seeks justice and finds it. “The worst thing in my life is also the best,” she says. “It has given my life meaning.”
Her journey resonates beyond borders in its implicit belief that even in the darkest times, one person, one voice, through a single act of courage, can change life for thousands.
The story is told through a dynamic score by Kamala Sankaram, filled with Hindustani and European opera influences, and a libretto by Susan Yankowitz, originating from a series of interviews with Mai.
Support
Commissioned, developed, and produced by Beth Morrison Projects and HERE Arts Center. Song-cycle commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects for the 2009 21c Liederabend at Galapagos Art Space, was further developed for the 2011 iteration at The Kitchen. Support provided by the MAP Fund, generously supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Augustine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Asian Women’s Giving Circle, the Poetry in Review Foundation, and the Anna Sosenko Foundation. Residency support was provided by Hermitage, MacDowell Colony, and Watermill Center.
![The West Coast premiere of TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD marked another successful addition to the rich legacy of collaborative efforts between Beth Morrison Projects and LA Opera (@laopera)! We're looking back at some of our favorite productions over the years to celebrate!
DOG DAYS - DOG DAYS marked the first production of the whirlwind partnership in 2015. Hailed by the New York Times as a riveting, soon-to-be “groundbreaking American classic,” the post-apocalyptic tragedy made waves at its LAO presentation and put BMP on the West Coast map.
P R I S M - P R I S M marked another milestone in our joint history. Not only did Ellen Reid’s (@ellenreidmusic) debut opera make its world premiere with LA Opera at REDCAT (@calartsredcat), but this collaborative project would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2019. It was a major development for BMP, LAO, and, of course, Ellen Reid, who “[took] her place among the host of promising young American opera composers” (The Financial Times).
ANGEL'S BONE - Another Pulitzer Prize-winning BMP production, ANGEL'S BONE, was planned as part of the 2020 season. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the presentation pivoted, becoming the first in our history to be presented digitally. The show was streamed by 20,000 people, demonstrating the strength and resilience of our bond with LAO.
TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD - Finally, Emma O’Halloran’s (@emmamohalloran) TRADE/Mary Motorhead made its West Coast premiere last month at REDCAT. We're thrilled to celebrate another year of BMP and LAO sharing boundary-pushing, cutting-edge opera with this incredible production starring Naomi Louisa O’Connell (@naomi_louisa_oconnell), Marc Kudisch (@marckudisch), and Kyle Bielfield (@bielfield)!](https://bethmorrisonprojects.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)