Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The Wallis, Beverly Hills
**_Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl._** Set in 1147, **_HILDEGARD_** follows German Benedictine abbess/polymath/composer St. Hildegard von Bingen as she receives visions from God. At grave risk of excommunication, she sets out to document her visions, enlisting her fellow nun Richardis von Stade to illustrate the manuscript. As they develop a transformative partnership that awakens them in ways both profound and unexpected, the two women must confront the powers that would see them erased from history rather than making it. More broadly, _HILDEGARD_ is about the desire for connection – to divinity, to humanity, and to our deepest sense of self – and the conflicts that compete therein. This highly anticipated world premiere marks **LA Opera**'s 17th innovative collaboration with the pioneering **Beth Morrison Projects**, hailed as “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” (_Financial Times_). Based on the writings of visionary, composer, and polymath, _HILDEGARD_ examines the tension between spiritual calling and human constraint. With a libretto by **Sarah Kirkland Snider**—who is praised by The Washington Post as one of the “Top 35 Female Composers in Classical Music”—and immersive visual projection design by **Deborah Johnson**, captures the struggle of two gifted women determined to make their voices heard in a world that sought their silence. **PERFORMANCE EXTRAS:** * Ticket holders to the November 5th performance are invited to an Opening Night post-performance reception hosted by [LA Arts Online](https://laartsonline.com/). * Ticket holders to the November 8th performance are invited to join us for a post-performance talkback with artists from HILDEGARD. **CREATIVE TEAM** Sarah Kirkland Snider, COMPOSER AND LIBRETTIST Elkhanah Pulitzer, DIRECTOR Gabriel Crouch, MUSIC DIRECTOR Beth Morrison, CREATIVE PRODUCER Deborah Johnson, ARTWORK & PROJECTION DESIGNER Marsha Ginsberg, SCENIC DESIGNER Molly Irelan, COSTUME DESIGNER Pablo Santiago, LIGHTING DESIGNER Drew Sensue-Weinstein, SOUND DESIGNER Annie Jin Wang, DRAMATURG Movement by Laurel Jenkins **CAST** HILDEGARD VON BINGEN - Nola Richardson RICHARDIS VON STADE R - Mikaela Bennett ABBOT CUNO - David Adam Moore VOLMAR - Roy Hage CLEMENTIA/MARGRAVINE VON STADE/ANGEL 2 - Blythe Gaissert GERTA/ANGEL 1 - Raha Mirzadegan MECHTILD - Patrick Bessenbacher OTTO - Paul Chwe MinChul An FACELESS WOMAN - Chloe Engel Commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects. Commissioned in part by the Aspen Music Festival and School and OPERA America Grants for Female Composers award funded by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The production of Hildegard received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Fund, New York State Council on the Arts, New Music USA, the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, William Kennedy, Betsy Greenberg and Pamela Drexel. Developed and produced by Beth Morrison Projects. Developed with Lyric Theater @ University of Illinois, Princeton University, and Mannes School of Music. * * * Read safety information [here](https://thewallis.org/safety).