A Conversation About A Bioengineered Whale: An Opera in One Act

This Saturday, Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, WNO’s acclaimed commissioning program for contemporary American opera, will feature the world-premiere of three one-act operas by three talented composer-librettist teams featuring performances by the Cafritz Young Artists. I was lucky enough to check in with one of the three teams: Tati composer Kyle Brenn and librettist Lex Brown. The story concerns 3 people who live in a bioengineered whale called Tati. The story is intriguing, but I was even more moved by the artists themselves: their talent, commitment to the work, delight in discovery, collaboration and joy are just the tonic we need in our sometimes cynical world. You’ll see what I mean as Kyle and Lex share their experience in creating their opera with us.  

WHALES SING! OPERA AND WHALES GO TOGETHER NATURALLY

Nicole Lacroix: I must admit I’m fascinated by the idea of an opera about being stuck in a giant whale.

Kyle Brenn: When people ask me what I’ve been up to the past year, saying that I’ve been writing an opera about three people stuck inside a whale has been a great conversation starter for sure!

NL: I like to sing in the shower, so the inside of a whale might be a good acoustical environment 😀

Lex Brown: Yes, totally! Even though it’s an implausible place to live, there’s something immediately familiar about the environment of a whale. For many people, the shower is a place where they can connect to their subconscious and their emotions, in privacy and surrounded by water. Likewise, we seem to have a deep, symbolic connection to whales and how they represent the subconscious and the emotional. As the biggest mammals on earth, they conjure an instinctual link to our primal, watery origins. They’re deeply intelligent, majestic, and emotionally stirring animals. And whales sing! Opera and whales go together naturally.

NL: Could you explain how the AOI program worked for you? You submit an audition, a prospectus and you’re accepted. Then what happens?

LEX: After being accepted, we had to pitch ideas. We pitched Tati and another piece about fire lookouts—people who do the solitary, crucial job of watching and preventing the spread of forest fires. With both ideas we were interested in nature and high-stakes environments. Ironically, the story about the gigantic whale was the one we felt we could best adapt to 20 minutes.

KYLE: Lex and I decided to go with the whale concept because a claustrophobic environment felt right for a twenty-minute piece.

EVERYTHING I WROTE WAS TO BRING THE AUDIENCE DEEPER INTO THE PIECE

LEX: In the process of pitching Tati, I developed an elaborate backstory, some of which you hear in our piece. Then I wrote the libretto. Writing for opera is a great challenge: you have to tell a story, develop characters, stir emotions, and also select words that have the right “earfeel,” words that sound good when sung ...all while being extremely economical with your choices because of opera singing’s elongation of vowels. 

Throughout writing, Kyle and I would meet virtually to discuss the characters and plot beats. After sending him the libretto, he composed the music. Kyle is also a songwriter and performer, so he would sing back what I wrote. That part of the process was so important; it gave me a chance to rewrite the libretto based on hearing him sing. I wrote in a way that was naturalistic and harmonious for the audience to experience. 

As a writer, I was meticulous about listening to Kyle’s music and the voices of our singers: Anneliese Klentsky, Sergio Martinez, and Viviana Goodwin. Everything I wrote was to bring the audience deeper into the piece, to leave them with provocative questions and images, and to make the exploration of this world a seamless experience.

KYLE: We had a one-week piano-vocal workshop with the performers in September which proved invaluable—Lex and I made a lot of changes between then and the final draft submission. Then I orchestrated the opera for the 14 musicians and submitted the parts for the performance.

NL: You both have impressive accomplishments in a wide variety of work. Kyle, your bio says you’re a multi-purpose musician whose work spans the worlds of contemporary music, theater, jazz and pop, often existing between them. What decided you to try opera? How did your artistic experiences inform this project?

LEX AND I SPENT A LOT OF TIME TINKERING UNTIL THE FINAL DEADLINE

KYLE: AOI is my first formal experience as an opera composer—my background is in musical theater, and I enjoy pushing the limits of the art form in my work. Though related to musical theater, opera places a large responsibility on the composer to fully build out the world, since everything is sung, and in this program the pieces are staged with just a few props and set pieces. I was excited to challenge myself and discover what my operatic voice sounds like. Lex and I share a love of worldbuilding, so we embraced combining the mythic and science-fiction qualities of Tati.

Additionally, my theatrical upbringing has taught me to view the material as always in flux. Lex and I spent a lot of time tinkering, all the way until the final deadline, to tell the story in the clearest and most effective way possible.

NL: Lex, even now you’re in Rome as a 2025 Fellow at the American Academy and you describe yourself as a multimedia artist who uses poetry and science fiction to create existential narratives about the Information Age. What inspired your desire to write opera?

Opera is larger than life. I think people are hungry for it.

LEX: It’s a natural, if unexpected, evolution. I’ve been songwriting and performing in music-based work for over a decade, in addition to making short films, paintings, sculptures, and drawings. “Opera” means “work” in Italian, and it can be used to describe any piece of art. I really relate to this. Everything has always been multimedia for me, and in some way, I’ve always had an opera mentality without knowing it. I love creating a total experience. Opera offers the opportunity to work with music, story, lighting, costume, and most importantly, dramatic extremes. Opera is larger than life and I love that. I think people are hungry for it too. 

That’s my big reason. But there’s also my small reason. In opera, the work is supertitled, and I just want people to be able to read what I wrote.

Because of my background in visual arts, I’ve been presenting my work primarily in that context. Even though what I make is essentially opera, in those spaces, narrative isn’t critically registered or acknowledged. It became really frustrating for me. I wanted people to understand my writing in a direct relationship with music and to understand narrative as the meat of the artwork, not just as an aesthetic object. Opera is a place where that happens. Words are inextricable from music, and that’s why I am pursuing this as a field for my artistry.

A POWERFUL METAPHOR AND A VISCERAL ENVIRONMENT

NL: Tell us about Tati (without spoilers). What is the message of Tati? What makes it an opera?

KYLE: Tati is the story of three people living inside the titular giant bioengineered whale: a pregnant marine biologist, Maysoon; her partner, a political fugitive, Osvaldo; and an older woman, Connie, who funded the bioengineering project and has spent the last 19 years inside of Tati. Each has different wishes and fears for their future, and Tati is dying. Osvaldo spots a chance at escape through Tati’s blowhole, and they’re then faced with a choice: brave the dangerous world outside, or raise the child in the ticking clock that has been their home.

Tati doesn’t have a standalone message, I’d say, but explores the dualities and challenges of knowing your home cannot sustain you—a feeling more and more of us are growing familiar with as climate change ravages our world. The wet, viscous space of Tati’s body offers me many opportunities as a composer, and the enclosed environment makes emotions even more magnified. That’s what makes it feel operatic to me. 

I gravitate towards themes of coming-of-age, isolation, and nature. I knew that whatever I created wanted to feel both grand and spacious enough for opera to fill it up, while remaining specific and prescient to today’s audience. Lex’s initial thought to focus on a whale struck the perfect balance—it’s a powerful metaphor and a visceral environment that places immediate obstacles in front of our characters. I’m also touched by the idea of a soon-to-be mother in that space, a sort of womb-within-a-womb.

LEX: The whale was definitely kicking—or swimming—around in my mind. I knew I wanted to do something with water. A key part of Tati that Kyle introduced, was the inspiration of Connie’s character. Kyle was telling me about a youtube hole he’d gone down, watching videos about this billionaire guy who’s obsessed with living forever.

HOW DO YOU RISK SOMETHING NEW, ONCE YOUR OLD WAYS ARE NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE?

LEX: Through these characters, the piece approaches many themes including: parenting, extractive capitalism, hope, and survival.

The primary confrontation is about our relationship to a dying environment and the proposition of bringing new life into such a system. Tati, the whale, represents any large structure that is now crumbling, and though there is familiarity, even love for that structure, it no longer works. The baby is the chance for something new, but ushering in something new requires delicate timing. 

In Tati, we present this confrontation as an ecological metaphor, but personally, I was writing from a place of my own spiritual and creative growth. And I hope others can project their own stories of decay and growth through the metaphor of Tati: how do you take the risk on something new, once you’ve recognized your old ways are no longer sustainable?

NL: What’s it like working with the Cafritz Young Artists?

I’m so grateful that there are young artists who are keeping this passionate and moving art form vital for all of us

Lex Brown

KYLE: The Cafritz Young Artists have been a joy to meet and work with. In addition to being extraordinarily talented, they are sensitive and knowledgeable collaborators, and their dedication to new work is so apparent. It’s been inspiring to get to know performers my age who are at the top of their game in this field. It makes me so excited to continue my journey as an opera creator.

LEX: Amazing! They are unbelievably talented, and also so courageous for pursuing this path. When you hear them sing, it’s with their entire body and soul. It’s so moving. I’m so grateful that there are young artists who are keeping this passionate and moving art form vital for all of us to experience. They sacrifice a lot for their craft. Being able to write a new story for singers who are peers is a huge gift.

By total serendipity, one of our singers is actually my third cousin. I found out who she was and that she was cast for our piece within a four-day period. So going through this process with her has been meaningful and celebratory.

NL: What have you gained from this experience?

I CAN’T BELIEVE OUR WORK IS AT THE KENNEDY CENTER!

KYLE: Firstly, I’ve gained a friend and creative partner in Lex. Our collaboration on Tati was rigorous and gracious and natural and everything else you’d want in this sort of process. I’ve also gained so much from the mentors and administrators at WNO and AOI—so much wisdom on craft, institutional knowledge, and a newfound understanding of this art form’s unique alchemy. And of course, an exciting opportunity to see our work fully realized onstage for an audience at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. I can’t even believe that part!

LEX: I’ve gained affirmation and confirmation that my skills have an important role to play in this art form. Kyle is an incredible collaborator who I plan to continue working with. I’ve received such insightful guidance from our artistic advisor Kelley O’Rourke and our mentors Tracy K. Smith, and Greg Spears. It’s been a slow, methodical process, and I’ve learned to become a much better writer. Having a piece premiere at the Kennedy Center, where I had many of my first artistic experiences, is just awesome. No matter how many times I go, the Grand Foyer is just as grand, timeless, and fabulous as ever. To present my first work of opera here is a full-circle moment. It means the world to me.

NL: What do you see as the present and future of opera as an art form?

HUMANITY IS WHAT MAKES OPERA GREAT

Kyle: We’re in a time when music can move fluidly between genres to create something totally new and original, and in AOI we are seeing work that does this while harnessing the power and rich tradition of the medium.

LEX: I swear, every other person I meet now is an opera singer, writing an opera, or composing an opera. Opera wasn’t a part of my life and now it’s everywhere! I think a lot of people are attracted to it and coming to it from unconventional places. Something is happening and it’s exciting. Opera takes many hands to make, so the more people who are writing, composing, singing, producing, and watching opera, the better. I think it has a strong future. People have an appetite for epic, dramatic, well-told stories and immersive worlds. People also crave human—as opposed to AI—creations, and opera is nothing if not that. I think there is a future for opera, as long as it’s timely and well-made, and as long as the people who support it remember that its humanity is what makes it great.

NL: What will audiences gain from seeing the program?

OPERA CAN ALTER THE WAY WE SEE THE WORLD

KYLE: This year’s AOI program offers three pieces that, while stylistically and thematically different, are all interested in immersive storytelling through music. Audiences will visit three distinct and captivating worlds, whether they’re interested in engaging deeply with every word or simply letting the music wash over them. The passion onstage and off is apparent. I’m so excited to hear it all put together!

LEX: I think audiences who are new to opera will appreciate the variety of these three new pieces. They all use music and storytelling in compelling ways and present pieces you can connect to, but are so different and original. I’m excited when I read or watch something that alters the way I see the world, I hope our piece does that. And on the eve of a new political era, I hope our piece and its characters can offer a symbolic framework for processing that change.

Three operas will be presented on Saturday, January 18 at 7 and 9 pm at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

Tati by Kyle Brenn and Lex Brown;

Cry, Wolf by JL Marlor and Clare Fuyuko Bierman 

Mud Girl by Omar Najmi and Christine Evans

For more information, and a digital program, visit Kennedy-Center.org