Inspired by one of the earliest cases of existential analysis, Ellen West is a remarkable new opera that explores the emotional, psychological, and physical challenges of a woman struggling with perceptions of her body, her relationship with food, and the world closing in around her. Poet Frank Bidart and composer Ricky Ian Gordon examine the lives of psychiatrist Ludwig Binswanger and his patient, “Ellen West.” Bidart’s poem, which serves as the primary source for the opera’s libretto, juxtaposes the clinical…

Inspired by one of the earliest cases of existential analysis, Ellen West is a remarkable new opera that explores the emotional, psychological, and physical challenges of a woman struggling with perceptions of her body, her relationship with food, and the world closing in around her. Poet Frank Bidart and composer Ricky Ian Gordon examine the lives of psychiatrist Ludwig Binswanger and his patient, “Ellen West.” Bidart’s poem, which serves as the primary source for the opera’s libretto, juxtaposes the clinical…