Eat the Document is an alternative opera based on the novel by Dana Spiotta. Shifting between the protests in the 1970s and the consequences of those choices in the 1990s, the piece by John Glover and Kelley Rourke explores connections between the two eras – their language, technology, music, and activism.

libretto by
Kelley Rourke

music by
John Glover

direction by
Kristin Marting

based on the novel by Dana Spiotta

eat the
document

The score includes a number of original “pop songs” that suggest the eras of the piece and explore key themes (tactics, consequences, identity, isolation, memory). One of these, the protest anthem “No More,” bookends the opera.

The characters’ own stories unfold in a series of arias and ensembles. In “Leave the Memory Behind,” a young woman – a fugitive – is raped. Rather than allow the assault to destroy her, she claims the power to rewrite her story yet again. In “Unyielding,” an aging radical reflects on his life. “I met Dennis Wilson Once” offers a scene between a suburban mom and her teenage son, an exchange that drives him to pursue the mystery of her past.

In development at AOP