Kendra Preston Leonard​
Librettist

Kendra Preston Leonard | provided by the artist

Kendra Preston Leonard writes about music, movies, gorgons, werewolves, feminism, nature, ghosts, disability, drama, race, paleontology, and much more. As a librettist and lyricist, her collaborations with composers and performers tell stories about empowerment, resilience, and compassion. Upcoming and recent premieres include the song cycle Cicatrices with music by Lisa Neher, commissioned by Molly Noori; My Skin: A Selkie’s Tale for voice and cello with music by Angela Elizabeth Slater, commissioned by Illuminate Women’s Music; the 2023 opera Neither Created Nor Destroyed with music by Jessica Rudman, commissioned by ENA Ensemble. Leonard is the award-winning author of three books of poetry, Making Mythology, Grab, and A Registry of Omens; and a novella in verse, Protectress. Trained as a musicologist, she has written numerous scholarly books in addition to poetry, plays, lyrics, and libretti. Visit her online at kendraprestonleonard.com.

Learn more about Kendra at the following links
 Official Website

New Wave Opera has programmed the following works by Kendra:
Marie Curie Learns to Swim​ (full opera)
Sense of Self (selections)

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