Chicago’s International Museum of Surgical Science will host the Sound of Fools presentation of “The Priestess of Morphine,” a monodrama for two voices, at the museum on June 17-18, 2022.

Acclaimed contemporary opera director Bea Goodwin’s staging is site specific, with the performances taking place throughout the museum halls.

The work, composed by American Prize for Opera-winner Rosśa Crean, with a libretto by Aiden K. Feltkamp, features sopranos Katherine Burton and Jessie Lyons reprising their roles as the notorious erotic poet Marie-Madeleine.

Using the nom de plume Marie-Madeleine, Gertrud Günther was a young Jewish lesbian caught between two selves and forced to live in the shadows and addiction during the Holocaust.

“The Priestess of Morphine” marks the debut of a new musical collective, Sound of Fools comprising Crean, Burton, Lyons, and percussionist/composer Ben Zucker. The performances will include Amanda Beaune on violin and Isidora Nojkovic on cello.