CELEBRATING MODERN STORYTELLING AND EMERGING VOICES IN OPERA

Speakeysie News Desk

WORLD PREMIERE OF WATER MEMORY (Jala Smirti), A NEW OPERA THAT ASKS…CAN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROVIDE INDEPENDENCE AND SUPPORT FOR AGING PARENTS WITH DEMENTIA? 

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR SIGNATURE 96-HOUR OPERA COMPETITION 

ATLANTA, GA – Tickets for The Atlanta Opera’s NOW Festival, returning June 12-14, 2026, are now on sale. Celebrating its fifth year of championing bold, contemporary storytelling, this year’s NOW Festival (New Opera Works) features the world premiere of Water Memory (Jala Smirti), a chamber opera that explores the use of Artificial Intelligence to support people with dementia, and 96-Hour Opera Project, the festival’s signature new works competition. Under the guidance of Artist Advisor and renowned director and playwright Tazewell Thompson, the festival continues to shape the future of the art form by mentoring the next generation of emerging artists.

The festival’s public events are scheduled over three days across two venues:

• Friday, June 12 at 7:30 pm – Water Memory (Jala Smirti) World Premiere, at the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech, 349 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332.
• Saturday, June 13 at 7:30 pm – 96-Hour Opera Competition Showcase featuring five new opera scenes followed by an awards ceremony, at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College, 900 West End Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30310.
• Sunday, June 14 at 3:00 pm – Water Memory (Jala Smirti) encore performance, at the Ferst Center for The Arts at Georgia Tech, 349 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30332.

Tickets for each day’s event are $35. Festival passes, valid for admission to both the competition showcase and one performance of Water Memory, are available for $50.  
Online sales at: https://www.atlantaopera.org/competition/
Atlanta Opera Ticket office: 404-881-8885 or tickets@atlantaopera.org

Water Memory (Jala Smirti)– A World Premiere
Water Memory by composer Kitty Brazelton and librettist Vaibu Mohan, winners of the 2024 96-Hour Opera competition, tells the story of Janani, a South Asian woman navigating the early stages of dementia. The opera explores memory, family, and connection, and the ways Artificial Intelligence can be a vital tool for sustaining these human bonds in a deeply moving work.

Brazelton is a New York-based American composer, bandleader, improviser, singer/songwriter, and instrumentalist. She has released albums and fronted bands across varied genres, including contemporary classical, electronic music, pop, art rock, punk, and avant-garde jazz. She was awarded the 2012 Carl von Ossietsky Composition Prize for Storm, a choral setting of Psalm 104 featuring Brazelton’s own retranslation. Her opera Art of Memory was awarded the 2015 Grant for Female Composers from Opera America.

Mohan is a writer, performer, producer, educator, and arts administrator based in New York City. Hailing from Arizona by way of Canada and Tamil Nadu, India, she brings a unique global perspective to her multifaceted career in the arts. As a specialist in musical theater, Mohan works as a lyricist, book writer, and composer. Her work has been showcased at prestigious venues including Lincoln Center, Rattlestick Theater, Brooklyn Children’s Theater, The American Opera Project, and The Phoenix Theater Company. She was a 2021 Write Out Loud Finalist.

Directed by Gregory Luis Boyle and conducted by Chaowen Ting, the cast features Marian Anderson Award winner Idira Mahajan as Janani. She is joined by Georgia-native Tanushka Sisodiya and tenor Joseph Ittoop as Janani’s adult children, Malli and Chandru, with soprano Samantha Burke as MPO (Memory Processing Operator).  Jacob Lay both performs the role of Joseph and is a member of the chorus. Additional members of the “Hydrangea” chorus include soprano Hanan Davis, alto Ebony Collier, and tenor Timothy Miller. The creative team includes the renowned scenic designer Donald Eastman, costume, wig, and makeup designer Emmie Tuttle, and lighting designer Ben Rawson. 

The development of Water Memory (Jala Smirti) has been deeply shaped by a dynamic collaboration with Georgia Tech, bringing together innovation in both music and technology. Conductor Chaowen Ting, a faculty member, has played a pivotal role in fostering connections between the university and the opera, helping to expand the project’s creative and technical scope. Through her leadership, TeAiris Majors, a graduate research assistant in the School of Music, joined the team. Described as a “sonic architect,” Majors integrates live and recorded sound to create a layered, mixed-reality experience within the work. Reflecting on this interdisciplinary partnership, Associate Vice Provost for the Arts at Georgia Tech Jason Freeman explains:

“We are thrilled to host the world premiere of Water Memory at the Ferst Center for the Arts. This opera reflects the essence of Georgia Tech’s mission to advance technology and improve the human condition. From our researchers sharing recent breakthroughs in robotics, assistive tech, and aging with the creators, to the pivotal roles played by our School of Music faculty and students in the performance, this project exemplifies the deep collaboration we hope to continue with The Atlanta Opera.”

The 96-Hour Opera Project is the heart of the NOW Festival and celebrates emerging creative talents from underrepresented communities, offering a unique platform for composers and librettists to bring new stories to life. As a competition, the Project invites applications, and participants are selected through a rigorous process and mentored by industry leaders to prepare and stage compelling ten-minute operas. Five teams compete for a $10,000 award, part of a $25,000 commission to create a new chamber opera that will premiere at an upcoming NOW Festival. Each creative team includes a composer and a librettist who have three months to write a 10-minute opera scene based on a prompt provided by The Atlanta Opera. The teams then have just 96 hours to rehearse with the musicians before presenting their work at the Competition Showcase in front of a live audience and a distinguished panel of judges. The winning team is announced at the showcase, which will also be available via livestream.

Announcing Competition Finalists
Selected from a field of more than 60 applicants, these are the 2026 finalists.

Thomas Whitman, composer & Gabriel Jenkinson, librettist
Jake Landau, composer & Darius Buckley, librettist
Gillian Perry, composer & David Davila, librettist
Ian Chung, composer & Matthew Chong, librettist
Rebecca Gray, composer & Andi Carter, librettist

This years’ judges include a mix of composers, librettists, directors, literary figures and arts leaders: B. E. Boykin(composer and conductor), April Powell (creative executive and writer), Andrea Davis Pinkney (author/librettist), Thaddeus Strassberger (stage director and designer), Priti Ghandi (artistic administrator), Tazewell Thompson(director/librettist), and The Atlanta Opera’s General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun.

The NOW Festival is sponsored by The Antinori Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, The Rich’s Foundation, Georgia Tech, and Morehouse College. Additional support is provided by the Fulton County Arts & Culture and by The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. The Atlanta Opera is grateful for the continuing support of these sponsors for the creation of new opera.

About The Atlanta Opera 
Hailed by The New York Times for “bringing opera back from the brink,” The Atlanta Opera breaks boundaries to create exceptional experiences for audiences everywhere. Founded in 1979, the company achieved Opera America “Tier One” status in 2024 and collaborates with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who shape the future of the art form.

When Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun assumed leadership in 2013, the company faced significant challenges. Since then, The Atlanta Opera has undergone a remarkable artistic and organizational transformation, expanding to four mainstage productions at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, launching the internationally acclaimed Discoveries series and the highly sought-after Studio Artist program, and creating the innovative NOW Festival. The educational Studio Tour has grown to reach more than 100,000 school children annually. Today it is recognized as one of the most dynamic and engaged opera companies in North America. The Atlanta Opera Film Studio, introduced in 2020, continues to produce cinematic opera content and extend the company’s global reach.

Since 2023, the company has been mounting the first U.S. production of a new Ring cycle since the pandemic, with the final opera scheduled for May/June 2026. Recent honors include nominations for the International Opera Awards, multiple “Best of” recognitions from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the 2025 Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities. In addition, the Harvard Business School has developed a case study about the growth and success of the company. Musical America put it best: “The Atlanta Opera has arrived.”

About Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a leading public research university committed to improving the human condition through advanced science and technology. With a growing emphasis on the arts as a vital component of innovation, Georgia Tech Arts brings together students, faculty, and collaborators across disciplines to explore creative expression, research, and performance. Through partnerships with organizations like The Atlanta Opera and presentations at the Ferst Center for the Arts, Georgia Tech fosters interdisciplinary work that bridges technology, creativity, and community engagement.