Iphigenia (opera)

Iphigenia is a jazz opera composed by Wayne Shorter with a libretto by Esperanza Spalding based on the mythological figure Iphigenia. The opera was premiered on November 12, 2021, at ArtsEmerson in Boston, Massachusetts, led by the conductor Clark Rundell and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz; the set design was by Frank Gehry. According to Spalding, the opera needed revisions at the time of its premiere. The libretto was written by Spalding, with additional writing by Joy Harjo, Safiya Sinclair, and Ganavya Doraiswamy.

Shorter was 88 years old at the time of composing the work.

Story
In Iphigenia in Aulis, as written by Euripides, the fate of Iphigenia is ambiguous. Iphigenia is sacrificed in order to appease the goddess Artemis to send favourable winds to allow her father Agamemnon's fleet to sail to Troy in the Trojan War. In Spalding's telling, Iphigenia is manifested in five forms, each with their own story.

Instrumentation
The opera features a 28-instrument chamber ensemble.