In the contemporary landscape of classical vocal performance, few artists demonstrate the curatorial rigor, conceptual daring, and interpretive fearlessness of soprano Laura Strickling. Her latest release, LEGENDS: Rebellion, is not merely a recording; it is a profound cultural and political statement. Released to critical acclaim, the album is a sweeping exploration of female agency, resilience, and resistance across history, mythology, and modern geopolitics.
Featuring pianist Joy Schreier and cellist Carrie Bean Stute, the project brings together original compositions, cutting-edge contemporary art song, and visceral poetry to investigate what it means for women to rebel politically, emotionally, erotically, maternally, and spiritually. From anonymous Afghan women expressing the harrowing realities of survival under patriarchal oppression to mythological heroines and the raw, humorous tribulations of early motherhood, LEGENDS: Rebellion challenges both performers and audiences to reconsider the boundaries of the art song genre.
This feature-length journalistic report explores the genesis, musical architecture, and socio-political dimensions of Strickling’s landmark recording. Drawing from extensive commentary by the soprano herself, this article examines how LEGENDS: Rebellion bridges the gap between historical female storytelling and the pressing injustices of the modern world, utilizing the human voice as an instrument of profound liberation.
Detailed Chronology: The Genesis of a Masterwork
The roadmap to LEGENDS: Rebellion spans years of intentional artistic discovery, grassroots commissioning, and deeply personal life experiences. The evolution of the album can be traced through a meticulous timeline of creative milestones:
The Catalytic Encounter: 2011–2014 and 2017
The foundational ethos of the album traces back to Laura Strickling’s personal history. Between 2011 and 2014, Strickling lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, where her husband served as the founding director of the law school at the American University of Afghanistan. Immersed in the daily lives of Afghan students and leaders, Strickling witnessed firsthand the intellectual vigor and resilience of women determined to shape their country’s future—as well as the immense systemic obstacles they faced.
Years later, in 2017, publisher Dennis Tobenski invited Strickling to curate the NewMusicShelf Soprano Anthology. This editorial undertaking served as an intensive, months-long crash course in contemporary composition. Sifting through hundreds of submissions, Strickling honed her instincts for what makes a piece of music textually compelling and emotionally resonant with live audiences.
The Anchor of the Project: June 2022
The definitive spark for LEGENDS: Rebellion arrived when composer Juhi Bansal’s song cycle Love, Loss, and Exile premiered at SongFest in June 2022, brilliantly performed by young soprano Abigail Sinclair. Knowing Strickling’s history in Kabul, Bansal shared the score. Set to the traditional oral poetry (landays) of anonymous Afghan women, the cycle instantly captivated Strickling.
"To quote the first song, these songs ‘consume me like water, like fire,’" Strickling recalls. "I find them deeply compelling compositionally, textually, dramatically, and vocally."
Expanding the Arc: Myth, Mortality, and Motherhood
With Bansal’s cycle anchoring the project, Strickling sought out complementary repertoire to expand and reframe its core themes. This led to a web of targeted collaborations:
- The Mythological Triptych: Strickling collaborated with composer Cecilia Livingston and writer Duncan McFarlane on "Circe," completing an Odyssey-inspired triptych (alongside earlier commissions "Kalypso" and "Penelope") for her "40@40 Project" initiative.
- Reversing Power Dynamics: Pianist Joy Schreier introduced Strickling to composer Jens Ibsen, whose work "Why won’t you let me look right at you?" subverts the traditional German literary personification of Death (famously explored in Schubert’s Death and the Maiden), placing the Maiden in a position of dominance.
- The Realities of Postpartum Life: Author Caitlin Vincent and composer Jodi Goble teamed up to create "Night-Time in the Fourth Trimester," a heartbreakingly funny portrait of a single night in the life of a sleep-deprived new mother.
- The Bookend: In November 2024, Strickling encountered a viral video of spoken-word poet Jocelyne Jam performing "The Original Rebellion." Strickling immediately initiated a collaboration with composer Jasmine Barnes, securing support from New Music USA’s Creator Fund to provide the album’s ultimate conceptual capstone.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Musical Architecture and Vocal Feat
Musically and vocally, LEGENDS: Rebellion represents a radical departure from traditional Western classical comfort zones. The album’s sonic landscape relies heavily on the nuanced interplay between Strickling’s soprano, Joy Schreier’s dynamic piano accompaniments, and Carrie Bean Stute’s multifaceted cello work.
Vocal Technique and Intercultural Synthesis
To authentically interpret Juhi Bansal’s Love, Loss, and Exile, Strickling had to venture far beyond standard European classical vocal pedagogy. Bansal’s score incorporates elements of Afghan folk singing and Hindustani classical ornamentation, demanding a heavier chest voice, straight tone, scooping, slides, and microtonal flexibility.
To master these requirements, Strickling traveled to California for an intensive three-day workshop in Bansal’s living room, subsequently spending months conditioning unfamiliar melismatic patterns into her muscular memory.
"If I were to compare the process to a sport, it would be like a freestyle swimmer deciding to train for the butterfly," Strickling explains. "The fundamental mechanics aren’t entirely foreign, but the body has to learn to use muscles in unfamiliar ways… It takes a shocking amount of air, for example, to sustain straight tone in the low-to-middle voice."
The Instrumental Palette
The integration of Carrie Bean Stute’s cello is central to the album’s emotional architecture. Moving far beyond traditional accompaniment, the cello functions as an atmospheric colorist, a duetting partner, a harbinger of doom, and a funereal drone.
In the climactic and devastating song "Stoning Ground," Schreier and Stute carefully pace an ominous, anxious rumble that builds relentlessly toward a frantic conclusion. Furthermore, in the final moments of the cycle, Stute employs a striking "seagull" extended technique on the cello—an uncanny, evocative sound that elicits visceral reactions from audiences, illustrating how instrumental color drives the narrative.
Official Statements: Laura Strickling on Artistry, Agency, and Motherhood
In exclusive reflections on the philosophy behind LEGENDS: Rebellion, Strickling addresses the core motivations driving her career as a champion of contemporary art song.
On Audience Engagement and the Art Form
Strickling views every performance through the lens of audience reception, noting that listeners’ body language provides immediate feedback on what resonates:
"I always consider audience experience in my programming. Yes, I need to love singing and performing the songs, but if I’m not communicating something that reaches the people listening then I’m not accomplishing anything lasting. I want to be the reason someone chooses to attend the next song recital they see advertised."
On the Dual Meaning of "Legends"
Explaining the title of the double-album project—split into LEGENDS: Rebellion and the forthcoming LEGENDS: Restoration—Strickling highlights the reclamation of narrative authority:
"There is a double meaning in the title. Legends are stories—but the women telling these stories are also legends. In a sense, they become the stories themselves. Across cultures and throughout history, song has been an important means of passing culture from person to person, and women have often played an essential role in carrying and transmitting those traditions. At the same time, women’s own stories have so often been taken out of their hands… The women presented on LEGENDS remain at the center of their own stories and destinies."
On the Complexity of Afghan Women’s Experiences
Addressing the tragic realities reflected in the Afghan landays, Strickling cautions against reducing Afghan women to passive victims of oppression:
"Afghan women are neither a monolith nor defined solely by their suffering; their lives encompass the same breadth of hope, desire, humor, intelligence, frustration, and resourcefulness as those of women anywhere else… The future of Afghan women cannot be dictated from outside Afghanistan, and their struggle is not mine to lead or define. I am not a statesman or a diplomat—I am a singer. What I can do is use the skills and platform available to me to carry these words into spaces where they might not otherwise be heard."
On the Raw Truth of Motherhood
Reflecting on "Night-Time in the Fourth Trimester," Strickling draws direct parallels between her own harrowing experiences of early motherhood and the universal need for artistic catharsis:
"They use sleep deprivation as actual torture. When the perpetrator weighs nine pounds, we call it motherhood… Sometimes knowing that you aren’t the only person who has struggled makes the journey a little lighter. When I read Caitlin’s account of this single night with her newborn, I recognized the raw truth of it and immediately felt a sense of camaraderie."
Future Outlook
As LEGENDS: Rebellion establishes its place in the modern classical canon, its ripple effects are already being felt across the contemporary art song community. By challenging traditional vocal boundaries, foregrounding marginalized narratives, and championing living composers—including Juhi Bansal, Cecilia Livingston, Jens Ibsen, Jodi Goble, and Jasmine Barnes—Strickling is actively building a sustainable, vibrant audience for new music.
Looking ahead, the cultural momentum generated by LEGENDS: Rebellion will culminate in the release of its companion volume, LEGENDS: Restoration, slated for release next year. While Rebellion confronts the fires of political, maternal, and emotional resistance, Restoration promises to explore the corresponding arc of healing, community, and cultural survival.
Through uncompromising artistic integrity and deep empathetic engagement, Laura Strickling, Joy Schreier, and Carrie Bean Stute have delivered a masterclass in modern storytelling—proving that the human voice remains our most potent instrument of truth, empathy, and change.
