Beth Morrison Projects presents BMP: SONGBOOK, a live performance and multi-faceted celebration marking two decades of trailblazing innovation in American opera. Over two unforgettable evenings, BMP: SONGBOOK brings together extraordinary artists who helped shape BMP’s legacy, performing highlights from some of our most iconic productions.
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Following the opening night performance, join us for an exclusive Anniversary UN-Gala & Launch Celebration, unveiling the BMP: SONGBOOK Anthology—a stunning two-volume collection featuring over 60 arias from BMP’s 60+ commissioned works—alongside the BMP: SONGBOOK double album with a special Signature Collection Vinyl edition, and a commemorative visual history book capturing interviews and stories from BMP’s visionary collaborators.
Curated and Directed by Beth Morrison
Presented as part of the 2026 PROTOTYPE Festival
BMP: SONGBOOK will feature highlights from:
Anatomy Theater (David Lang, Mark Dion)
Black Lodge (David T. Little, Anne Waldman)
Song from the Uproar (Missy Mazzoli, Royce Vavrek)
Trade (Emma O'Halloran, Mark O'Halloran)
Thumbprint (Kamala Sankaram, Susan Yankowitz)
Prism (Ellen Reid, Roxie Perkins)
The Old Man and the Sea (Paola Prestini, Royce Vavrek)
Dog Days (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek)
In Our Daughter's Eyes (Du Yun, Michael Joseph McQuilken)
Marimuka (Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa)
Book of Mountains and Seas (Huang Ruo)
Ellen West (Ricky Ian Gordon, Frank Bidart)
This is a seated performance. If you require accessibility accommodations, please email boxoffice@nationalsawdust.org.
STANDARD TICKET – $500
RED TICKET – $1,000
BLACK TICKET – $1,500
Following the BMP: SONGBOOK Concert, join us for an exclusive rooftop celebration at 74 Wythe, where you can mingle with the Songbook Concert’s performers, our community of composers, artists, and supporters over drinks and light bites. This milestone event not only commemorates our past 20 seasons but also supports the creation of bold new works by today’s most innovative composers, librettists, and artists for future seasons.
Thank You to Our Catering Sponsor, Dish Food & Events
Beth Morrison, Curator and Director
Beth Morrison, a Grammy-nominated producer and recipient of the Musical America Award for Artist of the Year/Agent of Change, is an acclaimed opera-theatre producer. She is the President and Creative Producer of Beth Morrison Projects and Artistic and co-Founding Director of the PROTOTYPE Festival. Hailed as a “contemporary opera mastermind” (LA Times), she founded BMP in 2006 to support living composers and transform the opera industry. BMP has produced over 65 works worldwide, including two Pulitzer Prize-winning operas. Morrison holds degrees from Boston University, Arizona State University, and Yale University and is a Lecturer at Yale’s David Geffen School of Drama.
Beth Morrison Projects
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary Season, Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) stands at the forefront of new opera and music-theatre, driven by a fierce commitment to telling the stories of our time and cultivating the next generation of trailblazing artists.
Founded in 2006 by Beth Morrison, hailed by the LA Times as a “contemporary opera mastermind” and named one of Musical America’s Artists of the Year/Agents of Change, BMP operates nationally and internationally from its Brooklyn and Los Angeles offices. Called “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” (Financial Times), BMP “more than any other… has helped propel the art form into the twenty-first century” (Opera News).
BMP has commissioned, developed, produced, and toured 65+ works in 15 countries, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone (Du Yun/Royce Vavrek), p r i s m (Ellen Reid/Roxie Perkins), and GRAMMY™-nominated Black Lodge (David T. Little/Anne Waldman). Its work has been presented at major venues and festivals including BAM, Lincoln Center, The Barbican, Edinburgh International Festival, and The Beijing Music Festival.
Through initiatives like BMP: Producer Academy and BMP: NEXTGEN, the company fosters the next generation of producers, composers, and artists.
Co-founder and now sole producer of the acclaimed PROTOTYPE Festival, BMP continues to redefine opera’s future—boldly, inclusively, and fearlessly.
PROTOTYPE
PROTOTYPE is produced by Beth Morrison Projects, a trailblazer in the creation and presentation of contemporary, multi-disciplinary opera-theatre and music-theatre works. The visionary festival is the only one of its kind in New York City and is a model now emulated around the country—producing and presenting a wide spectrum of works, from intimate black-box experiences to larger chamber opera productions, valuing artistic, curatorial, and producorial risk-taking.
PROTOTYPE is committed to surprising our audiences and confounding their expectations through content, form, and relevance. The festival gives voice to a diverse group of composers, librettists, performers, and musicians across all genres, backgrounds, and cultures. In providing a recurring showcase of visionary opera-theatre and music-theatre pieces, the touring life of the work extends around the world. The festival also presents groundbreaking new works by international artists and has become a global reference of artistic excellence in the field of opera and music-theatre.
PROTOTYPE was co-founded in 2013 by Beth Morrison Projects and HERE under the leadership of Beth Morrison, Kim Whitener, and Kristin Marting.