Librettist Diana Farrell Discusses the World Premiere of 'Gilgamesh: The Opera' - Interview

Описание: I recently spoke with fellow Assyrian, Librettist and Artistic Director, Diana Farrell about the world premiere of 'Gilgamesh: The Opera', coming to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts via Los Angeles-based Assyrian Arts Institute on March 28 and 29, 2026. Our conversation centered on how she became involved with the project and how a 7,000-year-old epic is being reshaped for a 21st century audience.

The two-hour operatic dance theater work is inspired by 'The Epic of Gilgamesh', inscribed on twelve cuneiform tablets discovered in the 19th century. The production unfolds in a prologue and two acts, blending music, movement and dramatic storytelling to explore friendship, love, grief and the search for meaning in the face of mortality.

At its heart is the bond between Gilgamesh and his adopted brother, the wildman Enkidu, grounding the myth’s epic scale in human emotion. As the king of Uruk journeys through loss and into realms of gods and shadows, he confronts the limits of power and the true meaning of legacy.

Farrell, an American lyric spinto soprano, serves as both Librettist and Artistic Director of the production. A recipient of the 2023 American Prize in the Women in Opera Division, the 2024 American Prize for Professional Opera and the 2024 AIMS Vocal Competition, she has earned recognition for her golden voice and commanding stage presence.

Her operatic credits include roles in 'The Consul', 'Die Fledermaus', 'Le nozze di Figaro', 'Carmen', 'Street Scene', 'Il barbiere di Siviglia', Lee Hoiby’s 'The Scarf' and 'Amelia Goes to the Ball'. She has performed with San Diego Opera, Opera Western Reserve, Pacific Symphony and Pacific Opera Project among others. Offstage, she is the Founding Artistic Director of Lyric Opera of Orange County, named Emerging Arts Organization of the Year by Arts OC in 2022. That same year, she was recognized as Woman Leader in Orange County Arts and as an OC Visionary by the Los Angeles Times. She also leads the Assyrian Arts Institute and serves on the IDEA/Legacy Committee for the National Opera Association.

As a librettist, Farrell has created original operas including 'The Yellow Wallpaper', which premiered at Carnegie Hall in January 2025, and now 'Gilgamesh: The Opera', she reimagines one of humanity’s oldest literary works for the modern stage.

The opera also carries cultural urgency. Today’s global Assyrian community, numbering an estimated three million, remains dispersed and stateless, shaped by instability and forced migration. Artistic expression has become a vital means of preserving identity. Through  'Gilgamesh: The Opera', ancient Mesopotamian heritage is connected to contemporary performance, ensuring that Assyrian history, culture and language continue to live on stage and in the wider world.

Nearly seven millennia after it was first carved into clay, 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' returns as a living work of art, reclaiming space on a major stage and affirming that Assyrian culture endures.

For more information about  'Gilgamesh: The Opera' visit: https://assyrianartsinstitute.org/gil....

To purchase tickets for the world premiere of 'Gilgamesh: The Opera' on March 28 and 29, 2026, at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts visit: https://www.ticketmaster.com/assyrian....

Follow Assyrian Arts Institute on Instagram @assyrianartinstitute. Follow 'Gilgamesh: The Opera' on Instagram @gilgamesh_theopera.

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts is located at:
18000 Park Plaza Dr.
Cerritos, CA 90703

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