Sati: Goddess Incarnate
Book and Lyrics by Vaibu MohanMusic by Zachary Catron In a rural village in India, an 18-year-old girl was burned alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband. The townspeople all stick to the same story: the girl went willingly and was touched by the Mother Goddess, Sati. She was chosen to do this. Sati: Goddess Incarnate is loosely inspired by the true story of Roop Kanwar, the last recorded case of the practice of sati—widow burning—in India, and tells a story that is yet to be told: Roop’s story. A headstrong and defiant girl, Roop is constantly at odds with what is expected of her. But she discovers a connection with Goddess Sati during the Navratri festival and sends her village into a frenzy. What happens when the people who laud you as a goddess turn against you? With a score based in Carnatic, Western classical, and music theatre styles featuring Bharatnatyam as the primary dance language, Sati: Goddess Incarnate investigates a central question: what happens when the stories we tell ourselves begin to affect our reality?Development History: National Music Theater Conference Semifinalist (2024)Choreography Residency at Silambam Phoenix (2023-2024) Choreography Presentation- La Mama Experimental Theater (August 2023)Concert Presentation- 54 Below (July 2023) 29 Hour Reading- 54 Below (April 2023) Jala Smriti
Libretto by Vaibu MohanMusic by Kitty Brazelton In this one act opera, Janani is losing her memory. While she refuses to accept her condition, her children see that she needs care and they employ the use of a healthcare AI named MPO (Memory Processing Operator). As Janani comes to terms with her new reality, she discovers that she can have a new life with the help of her new aide as face her disease and future head on. Development History: Winner of the Atlanta Opera 96 hour Opera Festival Commissioned by Atlanta Opera- Premiering in 2026 Nayika Mixtape
Concept, Music, and Lyrics by Vaibu Mohan Music and Orchestration by Raiah Rofsky Additional Music by Mario Yniguez Additional Music and Orchestration by Greg Paladino Based on the Indian literary concept of the Ashtanayikas (eight heroine tropes), Nayika Mixtape is a song cycle that reimagines and interprets these eight heroines in a modern context. With a score that ranges from disco to folk, contemporary musical theater to Indian fusion, Nayika Mixtape allows these female characters to express themselves through a female lens after being expressed through the eyes of men for the majority of their existence. Development History: Pure Brown Noise, selections presentation- 54 Below (March 2023)Festival of New Musical Theater- The Phoenix Theater Company (March 2021) Demo Recording (January 2021)