Artist Spotlight: Emily Koh & Elena Ruehr

With the Guerilla Underground just around the corner, we wanted to take some time to spotlight Emily Koh and Elena Ruehr, whose works feature in the festival. Both composers bring to life stories that reflect powerful themes of identity, gender, and technological innovation, each with a unique voice that continues to push the boundaries of contemporary opera.

Emily Koh’s HER | alive.un.dead is a deeply moving media opera that examines the lives of three generations of Asian women, exploring themes of immigration, identity, and place. Through the lens of familial cycles of birth and death, the opera delves into the experience of Asian women in Western societies, where generational differences come into sharp focus. The piece explores gender biases and discrimination faced by Asian women, highlighting the clash between traditional values and the pressures of assimilation.

Koh’s music for HER | alive.un.dead reflects her ability to elevate the ordinary, paying special attention to the often-overlooked details of everyday experiences. With intricate layers of sound and an exploration of extremities—life versus death, activity versus stagnation—her score creates a sonic environment that amplifies the emotional undercurrent of these generational struggles. Sung in English, Mandarin, and Teochew, the opera uses language itself as a tool to highlight cultural divides, making this work as much a linguistic and cultural exploration as it is a musical one.

Emily’s exploration of her own immigrant experience as a first-generation Singaporean is woven throughout the opera, with a narrative that speaks to the universal struggle of women navigating the complexities of heritage and identity. As she puts it, her musical style—a fusion of Western classical training and her Singaporean upbringing—mirrors the clash and confluence of East and West. HER | alive.un.dead is a testament to the power of opera to tell deeply personal yet universally relevant stories, and its ongoing development promises to be a moving and thought-provoking experience.

In contrast to the emotional depth of Emily’s work, Elena Ruehr’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage is a lively and comedic one-act opera that takes us into an alternate universe where Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage—the pioneers of computing—use their invention to fight crime. Adapted from the graphic novel by Sydney Padua, the opera presents a steampunk reimagining of these historical figures, highlighting the genius and creativity of Ada Lovelace, who is often overlooked in the history of computing.

Elena’s music for this opera is as inventive as its premise, combining the sounds of the actual working Difference Engine with electronic and acoustic instrumentation to bring the historical and futuristic elements of the story to life. The opera’s witty libretto by Royce Vavrek shines a spotlight on Ada’s legacy, demonstrating how women have long been at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation, yet often go unrecognized. The opera’s playful tone, paired with Elena’s distinctive musical language, invites audiences into a world of adventure and discovery, where the brilliance of these unsung heroes is finally celebrated. Elena’s work has often been lauded for its ability to combine accessibility with complexity, and The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage is no exception. The opera brings to light the profound contributions of women in science and technology, reminding us of the importance of representation in history—and in opera.

Explore powerful themes of women’s struggles, tradition vs. change, and innovation in Emily Koh’s HER | alive.un.dead and Elena Ruehr’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. These operas challenge the conventions of the genre, offering fresh perspectives on identity, gender, and historical recognition. Don’t miss the chance to see these groundbreaking performances—get your tickets now!