The Atlanta Opera announces that composer Kitty Brazelton and librettist Vaibu Mohan won the Antinori Grand Prize in its third annual 96-Hour Opera Festival. The duo took home the top prize for their new work, Jala-Smriti -- Water Memory, a look at the use of Artificial Intelligence to support people with dementia, performed for live and livestreamed audiences at Ray Charles Performing Arts Centre at Morehouse College on Monday night.

Hosted in partnership with the Morehouse College School of Music and expanded from previous years, the 96-Hour Opera Festival featured the world premiere of Marcus Norris and Adamma Ebo’s Forsyth County is Flooding (with the Joy of Lake Lanier) on June 15. Last season’s competition winner was presented in a developmental workshop as mentors and other advisors were treated to Steele Roots by composer Dave Ragland and librettist Selda Sahin on June 16. The Festival concluded with the third annual composition showcase and competition on June 17 that presented the work of the five teams of composers and librettists selected to participate. Each team had four days at Morehouse College to rehearse and stage the entirely new 10-minute operas they created for the competition.

“The energy and enthusiasm for this program has grown exponentially every season and we are truly heartened,” says Tomer Zvulun, Carl W. Knobloch Jr., General & Artistic Director. “Not only did we fill the hall at the live events, but by activating The Atlanta Opera Film Studio and introducing livestreaming of the 96-Hour Opera Festival we reached hundreds of people across the country and internationally. This is so encouraging because a major part of this program’s mission is to offer the widest exposure possible to the creative teams.”

For this year’s competition, each team was invited to develop an original story focused on the opportunities and adversities of a future that relies on Artificial Intelligence.  Past competitions looked at historical figures and events relevant to Atlanta and Georgia.   

In this year’s judged competition, What is Love? An AI Story, a work that asks if androids can learn to love, by composer Timothy Amukele and librettist Jarrod Lee, was selected as Runner-Up. It also took home the award as Audience Favorite, chosen by popular vote.    

Brazelton and Mohan will share the $10,000 Antinori Foundation Grand Prize and a commission from The Atlanta Opera to create a chamber opera. The remaining eight finalists each received a $1,000 honorarium. Travel, housing, singers, pianists, and rehearsal spaces were provided by The Atlanta Opera with support from Morehouse College.

The 96-Hour Opera Festival is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Rich’s Foundation, UPS, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Antinori Foundation.