Watch The First Lady
The First Lady
in the Press
Los Angeles Times
This opera’s drama isn’t only onstage
Martha Groves
February 19th, 2010
Daily Bruin
Psychiatry professor Kenneth Wells composes ‘The First Lady,’ his debut opera
Jillian Ames
February 21st, 2010
UCLA Press Release
The First Lady concerning two weeks in the life of Eleanor Roosevelt from the death of FDR to VE Day.
This is a work of historical fiction, and while based on historical events, takes liberties in depicting characters, names, situations, timing of events, and circumstances and alters or paraphrases these sources to convey the work’s artistic themes. The libretto was copyrighted in 1992, and revised in 2006. The music was written between 1996 and 2006, and the complete, revised work was copyrighted in 2007 – 2010.
The First Lady had it’s world premiere on Friday, February 19, 2010 followed by five additional performances as well as a symposium on Resiliency and Recovery and six speaker sessions featuring women leaders of today: Elyn Saks, Grethen Berland, Bonnie Lowenthal, Loretta Jones, Deborah Butterfield, Bonnie Zima, and Elizabeth Bromley.
The opera was sponsored by the UCLA Semel Institute Health Services and Research Center and needtheater. All performances and speaker sessions were free and open to the public.
Item Title Two
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services. Help people become familiar with the business and its offerings, creating a sense of connection and trust. Focus on what makes the business unique and how users can benefit from choosing it.
Item Title Three
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services. Help people become familiar with the business and its offerings, creating a sense of connection and trust. Focus on what makes the business unique and how users can benefit from choosing it.
"The opera discusses what it means to be a resilient person. It shows how three women try to resolve something and come to a better place with each other and themselves not through domination, but through an understanding of connectedness."
— Kenneth B. Wells.
The First Lady
Music by Kenneth B. Wells
Libretto by
Kenneth B. Wells
Rickard Roudebush
Gayle Patterson
Matt B. Wells