Described by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the most talented and intriguing of living composers,” Lori Laitman has composed operas, choral works, and hundreds of songs setting texts by classical and contemporary poets, including those who perished in the Holocaust. Laitman's music is praised for its uniqueness, craft, and beauty: “unmistakable sense of identity…masterful skill” (Opera News); “artistry of the highest order” (Textura.org); “gripping and thought-provoking” (American Record Guide). She's received commissions from the BBC, The Royal Philharmonic Society, Opera America, Opera Colorado, Seattle Opera, Grant Park Music Festival, Music of Remembrance, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and others.
The Naxos release of Opera Colorado’s production of The Scarlet Letter, to David Mason’s libretto, was named a Critic's Choice by Opera News and one of the top 5 CDs of 2018 by Fanfare Magazine. Laitman and Mason also collaborated on the Holocaust oratorio Vedem, staged by Indianapolis Opera in March 2022, and Ludlow, an opera that examines the U.S. immigrant experience. Ludlow’s “The Wind Sighs” opens Stephen Powell's 2021 Grammy-nominated American Composers at Play.
The Three Feathers, Laitman’s children’s opera with librettist Dana Gioia (2014) was commissioned by the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. Seattle Opera commissioned an abridged version for school touring (2017) and L’arietta Productions presented the international premiere in Singapore (2019). Solo Opera (with the San Francisco Girls Chorus) will produce the opera in September 2023.
Uncovered, Laitman’s one-act opera with librettist Leah Lax (based on her memoir), examines a woman’s right to choose. Co-commissioned by Utah State University, City Lyric Opera and The New York Opera Society, the work premiered in 2022 and was a finalist in the 2018 Pellicciotti Competition.
A magna cum laude graduate, Laitman received her MM from Yale School of Music. For more information, please see www.artsongs.com.