Works & Process presents The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, a performance from the Minnesota Opera by Kamala Sankaram and Minita Gandhi on Monday, October 12, 2026 at 7PM at the Peter B. Lewis Theater, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10128. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/guggenheim/3515/event/1476994.

Witness the transformation of BOOM! Studios’ acclaimed graphic novel The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V. and Filipe Andrade into a vivid and transporting tale for the operatic stage by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Minita Gandhi. Commissioned and developed by Minnesota Opera’s groundbreaking New Works Initiative, the opera explores the blurred boundary between divine and human through the lens of magical realism when the goddess of Death is cast down to Earth to live as a mortal named Laila Starr.

Ahead of the world premiere in Saint Paul join Ram V., Sankaram, Gandhi, and members of the opera’s creative team––including director Mary Birnbaum, scenic designer Mimi Lien, costume designer Oana Botez, and choreographer Rohit Gijare––for a conversation about their collaborative process, interwoven with cast members performing excerpts. Infused with elements of Konnakol, Raga, and EDM, this fantasy on purpose and impermanence unfolds with both kinetic energy and striking clarity, as a god made mortal begins to see the world––and life itself––through fresh eyes. All are invited to continue the conversation at a reception in the rotunda.

Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative is a groundbreaking commissioning program aimed at invigorating the operatic canon with an infusion of contemporary works. Launched in 2008, it has resulted in the premiere of nine new operas including Silent Night, The Shining, Doubt, Edward Tulane, The Song Poet, and more. The initiative is centered around a six-person creative cohort of three composers and three librettists who work in different pairings to collectively create three full-scale operas, three chamber operas, and three song cycles. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is the second opera from the current cohort—composers Kamala Sankaram, David Hanlon, and B.E. Boykin and librettists Minita Gandhi, John de los Santos, and Harrison David Rivers—to premiere, following Boykin and Rivers’ My Name is Florence in January 2026.