The Fall of Man and Other Tales
A multi-media operatic journey through the past, present, and future of humanity by Ben Morris and Laura Fuentes
“The Fall of Man and Other Tales” is a multi-media opera in nine parts. Featuring music by Ben Morris and a libretto by Laura Fuentes, the work takes the listener on an immersive journey through different time periods in human history, from prehistory to the far future, exploring themes of isolation and our relationship with our environment.
Ben Morris is a Colorado-based composer and jazz pianist whose music tells unconventional stories. He recently lived in Oslo, Norway on a Fulbright Grant, composing an extended big band work inspired by his Norwegian heritage.
His accolades include attending the Aspen Music Festival, performing at Newport Jazz Festival, studying traditional music in Korea, and receiving ASCAP Morton Gould and Herb Alpert Awards and commissions from the Washington National Opera and the American Composers Orchestra. Morris graduated from Rice University and University of Miami and is completing his doctorate as an ATLAS Fellow at CU Boulder studying with Carter Pann.
Laura Fuentes is a Baltimore-area librettist and playwright. She has been commissioned by the Washington National Opera as part of its 2020-2021 American Opera Initiative cohort, working on a new opera with composer Ben Morris. Laura was a 2019 Playwright Fellow with Cohesion Theatre, and a grantee of the College Light Opera Company's 2018 New Works Program. She has been a commissioned playwright with Interrobang Theatre, and her work has been featured in Avant Bard Theatre's Scripts in Play new works festival and the Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival.