Leilehua Lanzilotti

Liliʻu (2024) — opera
Songs for Liliʻu (2024) — concert version

Music by Leilehua Lanzilotti
Libretto by Lanzilotti, sourced from the writings of Liliʻuokalani

Set in 1895, when Queen Liliʻuokalani was imprisoned for almost a year in Iolani Palace for her alleged knowledge of an attempt to take back the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, Liliʻu tells the story of the Queen's life at a time of great upheaval. Denied visitors except for one female companion, Liliʻuokalani depended on secret messages and news that would come to her as wrapping for flowers. Liliʻuokalani used her voice to encode hope and seeds of cultural renewal in her writings and musical compositions—a spark of hope in the darkness.

The work exists in the following forms:

• The opera, Liliʻu, scored for eight voices (SSAATBBB), flute/alto flute, piano, hand percussion, and string quartet. Staging, costumes, lighting, set design, and other elements are utilized. Grand Rights must be secured with the composer in advance, duration 55’

• A concert version, Songs for Liliʻu, scored for eight voices (SSAATBBB), with the singers playing hand percussion, piano, and viola as a part of the band—a selection of songs from the opera with singers in concert dress but with no stage action, duration 25’

• Dance Suite from Liliʻu—all the choreographed sections of the work, fixed media with the possibility of some live musical elements (2 musicians). Grand Rights must be secured with the composer in advance. duration 35’

Left: Hawane Rios and Kawika Au / Middle: Kahanuola Solatorio / Right: Madilyne Hiʻilani Nguyen-Acosta // Community activations around Dance Suite from Liliʻu // Photographs by Leilehua Lanzilotti

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Past Events

Thursday, October 2, 2025 — Dance Suite from Liliʻu, choreographed by Anthony Aiu, with music by Leilehua Lanzilotti, Judson Memorial Church, Tatou Festival, New York, NY

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 — Workshop Songs from the opera Liliʻu: Community Presentation, performed by Roomful of Teeth and Lanzilotti, School for Advanced Research (SAR), Santa Fe, NM

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 — The MERWIN CONSERVANCY Presents A Talk with LEILEHUA LANZILOTTI In The Green Room Series featuring libretto readings from Lanzilotti’s opera Liliʻu and a dance performance by choreographer Anthony Aiu, Washington Place, Honolulu, HI

Sunday, April 14, 2024 — The MERWIN CONSERVANCY Presents A Talk with LEILEHUA LANZILOTTI In The Green Room Series, libretto reading from Lanzilotti’s opera, Liliʻu, Maui Arts & Cultures Center, Kahului, Maui, HI

Libretto commissioned by the Native Arts + Cultures Foundation through a SHIFT — Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts Award. The music for Lili‘u is co-commissioned by New Native Theatre, Rhiana Yazzie, Artistic Director, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Dance Suite for Lili‘u was premiered with support from Creative Capital Foundation.

Development of Liliʻu supported in part by OPERA America Women Composers: Discovery Grants program, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation; the Western Arts Alliance Advancing Indigenous Performance Native Launchpad program with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts; the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) and Kamehameha Schools through the E OLA (Empowering ‘Ōiwi Leadership Award) program; the Atherton Family Foundation; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional residency support for creation and development of the work provided by the American Composers Forum through the 2021 McKnight Visiting Composer Program, Marble House Project, the Macgeorge Bequest, the Merwin Conservancy, the School for Advanced Research (SAR, Santa Fe, New Mexico), and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program.