The Ocean Memory Opera
The Ocean Memory Opera is an original multi-disciplinary piece that brings together scientific discovery and artistic imagination to tell the story of life’s emergence on Earth.
Set at the intersection of mythology, molecular biology, and deep time, the opera gives voice to the ocean itself—divided into three personified aspects: Love, Evolve, and Memory. These characters embody the ocean’s role as both witness and active force in the four-billion-year history of life. By blending narrative, music, and scientific insight, the opera invites audiences to consider life’s beginnings not just as a set of facts, but as a story still unfolding through and around us.
We’re currently in development and will be sharing audio previews, visual designs, and project milestones as the work progresses. Join our mailing list to stay informed.
4 acts, 4 billion years
How do you tell the story of a 4 billion-year evolution in one musical happening?
1
Primordial Harmonies The cosmic dance of early Earth births our oceans, where ancient chemical conversations between water and rock compose the first notes of life’s grand symphony.
2
LUCA Awakens From the crucible of elemental attraction emerges LUCA, the last universal common ancestor, a miraculous synthesis that carries within it the encoded memory of all future life.
3
Rainbow Evolution Life’s kaleidoscopic transformation unfolds across billions of years, from light-harvesting microbes painting the ocean in vivid hues to the asteroid’s thunderous percussion that cleared the stage for mammalian consciousness.
4
Human Resonance As inheritors of the ocean’s ancient wisdom, humans stand at a crossroads for life on our planet, with love offering the profound possibility of harmony with Earth’s living symphony.
About the CREATORS
Scientific & Artistic Team
JOHN BAROSS (lead scientist & co-librettist)
John Baross is Professor Emeritus in Oceanography and Astrobiology at the University of Washington, Seattle. His research specializes in the ecology, physiology, and molecular phylogeny of microorganisms from deep-sea hydrothermal vent and subseafloor environments. He has particular interests in the microbiology of extreme environments and the significance of early Earth history and submarine hydrothermal vent systems for understanding the origin and evolution of life, and the possibility of life on other planets or moons in similar settings. The ocean’s memories of early life, its origin, viruses, and evolutionary processes deeply influence his thinking across these many areas of interest.
Dr. Baross is one of the founding faculty members of the nation’s first graduate training program in Astrobiology, now celebrating 25 years at the University of Washington. He has served on over forty national and international committees, including as co-chair of the National Research Council (NRC, National Academy of Sciences) Committees on the Origins and Evolution of Life (2000–2003), chair of the NRC Task Group on The Limits of Organic Life in the Universe (2004–2007), chair of the External Advisory Board, Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations(C-DEBI, NSF, 2013–2015) and member of the International Executive Committee for the “Deep Carbon Observatory” (DCO, Simons Foundation). Dr. Baross is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and associate member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the recipient of a NASA Group Achievement Award, Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Science Definition Team (2005) and the NASA Exceptional Scientist Medal (2021).
ERIN BREGMAN (co-librettist)
Erin Bregman is a playwright and librettist whose work has been described as making “an impossible story come to life” (DC Theater Scene). Her work has been produced and developed around the country, including at Washington National Opera, The Hot Air Music Festival, Just Theater, Rorschach Theater, 6NewPlays, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Inkwell, Profile Theater, American Conservatory Theater, The Lark, The Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Impact Theater, and PlayGround.
As a librettist Bregman has collaborated with a wide range of composers, including John Glover, Alex Stein, Matt Boehler, Peter Engelbert, and Dina Maccabee. Recent work includes a piece for choir, children’s choir, and chamber orchestra with composer and singer Matt Boehler (Two Friends), and a 20-minute comic opera with composer John Glover (Precita Park). Bregman has received support from many champions of the arts, including the San Francisco Arts Commission, Zoo Labs, the Playwrights Foundation, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation/Magic Theater. For over a decade, Erin made operas with kids as a teaching artist with the San Francisco Opera, and founder and director of Little Opera. She now lives and works as a science writer in Port Angeles, WA.
Jody Deming (lead scientist & convener)
Jody Deming is an oceanographer who explores the limits of viral and microbial life in polar oceans, including adaptations to extreme cold in sea ice and microbial functions at the ecosystem level. These interests build on prior research in the cold deep sea and its hotter subseafloor realm, using pressure-retaining equipment and submersibles.
At the University of Washington, she has trained numerous graduate students, directed the Marine Bioremediation Program, launched what has become the Center for Environmental Genomics, and co-founded the nation’s first PhD program in Astrobiology. She has served as Chief Scientist for interdisciplinary icebreaking expeditions in the Arctic Ocean, developed through her work on international committees. In recognition of her work, she has been elected to the American Academy of Microbiology and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. As Editor-in-Chief of the Ocean Science domain of the non-profit, open-access journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, she embraces the written word for public good. She continues her career as an explorer through collective leadership of the Ocean Memory Project, a new frontier of ocean research and practice that combines many threads of knowledge, experience, and expression.
John Glover (composer)
Described as “an unabashedly expressive composer,” (New Yorker) John Glover has created music for concert, opera, dance, and theater. He has received commissions from organizations including Houston Grand Opera, On Site Opera, American Composers Orchestra, The New York Youth Symphony, Washington National Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Mirror Visions Ensemble, Amber Sloan Dance, Crossman Dans(c)e, Ensemble Meme, String Noise, and the Five Boroughs Music Festival. His work has been presented in venues ranging from Rockwood Music Hall to CarnegieHall, The Invisible Dog to the Rothko Chapel.
His song cycle Natural Systems was described as a “vivid score ranging from energetic swirls to a gentle, enigmatic conclusion.” (New York Times). John has received numerous awards, fellowships and grants for his music from organizations including New Music USA, Meet The Composer, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Cambodia Living Arts, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. In addition to his work as a composer, John serves as the Director of Artistic Planning for Kaufman Music Center.
Recent projects include the world premiere of the alternative opera Eat The Document on PROTOTYPE and the song cycle After Him for Sparks and Wiry Cries. Upcoming projects include the work A Haven for pianist Adam Tendler commissioned by Cherry Valley Artworks and the orchestra and choir work Love for the SMS High School. And the album of Eat The Document is slated for release on the label Bright Shiny Things. His Music can be heard on New Amsterdam Records, New Focus Records, and Pentatone.
Ocean Memory Opera 