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    An Opera in Jazz and Metal for Female Soloist and Chorus
    La Suspendida dares to give voice to Maria Elena that transcend
    victimhood, positing her as the agent of her own unique destiny.

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1.
2.
Limbo: A Place with No Weather (Solo, María Elena) I don’t hate this place It’s not Cuba, or Florida Not hot, not cold No weather at all In my body, yet free from it I never loved my body much It always felt like someone else It’s starting to feel right at last Right here, right now, at last Adios old world, old ways Marriage, home, family I sense a new love here. Now Outside of time Unlike any love there’s ever been I revel in the pleasure And let go of the pain In this new land, that is no land This place between realms This place with no weather
3.
Interlude: Arrival Come from afar, Foreign lover, Though I be unalive Cross the great line, Drench me, That I be not all dead
4.
Laudes Mortuorum & Roll Call of the Newly Dead (Chorus) Morning comes. shhh Morning comes to the eastern shore. shhh Reveal the shadows gathered there. The newly dead of the Americas await our summons across the sand. Arise. Arise, Shades. Arise, Shades. Fall in the parade as single tears. Augment the ocean of perpetual death. Arise, Shades. You must obey. We know not of light or time. You who still do must pass through. Come! Come, we will teach you the timeless ways of this land. Come shed your name, your clock, your pain. Come shed your name, your clock, your pain. Kiko da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, 17, knife wound. Hattie May Johnson, Norfolk, 89, loneliness. Ryan O’Malley, New York, 46, heart attack. Kwe’Tshito of Kanawahkee, 52, frozen. Come shed your name, your clock, your pain. Come shed your name, your clock, your pain. Maria Elena Milagros, Key West, 21, tuberculosis... Maria Elena Milagros, Key West, 21, tuberculosis. ALL SHADES MUST COMPLY!!!!
5.
6.
The Ballad of María Elena (Solo, María Elena) Thank you so much… I hate to be rude Not choosing one or the other But I have the means to choose something new I even got help from my mother As for me... I won't listen to your rule book As for me, I'll just stay here in this place eternally Eternally Cuba was my home but I chose to roam My husband decided to leave me; Our child was born dead I sought out instead, a homeland that would not deceive me As for me, I don't stay where I don't want to You can see I went to Key West Doctor Tanzler was obsessed Obsessed with me, living, dying then lifeless He did me then, He does me now And I’m kind of liking it like this As for me, I’ve created quite a system I can be In control in life and death and in-between I like it here, The in-between tier In this limbo locale with no weather Tanzlers’s living lust, In this cunt of dust, Means I can stay here forever As for me I’ve got myself a husband Who loves me as I am As I am, not how he thinks I should be Mama does my hair and make-up up there Then he fucks the corpse that he attended I vibe with his vibe I gladly imbibe The essence that keeps me suspended As for me I don’t need to join your chorus As for me I can live here in control eternally I know it’s odd I know we’re not a typical pair Quirky and young His perv intentions cross cosmic dimensions No other man is so well hung As for me I’m not merely in a coma I’m alive!! After dying way too young I plan to thrive!
7.
Arguments at the Gates of Death, Part 1: You can’t drag me through your gate (Tutti) Chorus: They don’t exist, Venus, Ishtar There are no Goddesses of Power… Only human fear of us, the dead. María Elena: You say he loves my corpse Because he fears death, but I don’t care I know that nothing can bring me back to life But as long as I get his fresh seed, You can’t drag me through your gate
8.
Interlude: Innocence Come from afar, Foreign lover, Though I be unalive Cross the great line, Drench me, That I be not all dead
9.
Arguments at the Gates of Death, Part 2: You don’t remember what flesh is (Tutti) Chorus: If Love is a god, then so is Time A god with the power to bring all here María Elena: You don’t know shit if you believe That Time’s a stronger god than Love. How many lovers have loved beyond death? Didn’t Thelma and Louise love into the abyss? Didn’t Tristan and Isolde grow trees That intertwined above their graves? Chorus: They died together They were equal Their love did not inhabit separate worlds María Elena: But others did. And you allowed it! Victoria shaved Albert’s statue everyday Shah Jahan’s dead wife lies in the world’s finest monument! People travel far and wide to behold how much he loved her. Pornography in marble! Chorus: They loved with souls, not flesh Much less did they mingle flesh and dust María Elena: You don’t remember what flesh is Flesh is pure, even when decayed It’s only the soul that sins You don’t remember what flesh is! Chorus: It cannot be It will not pass The tests of science and morals
10.
Song of the Countess (Solo, María Elena) María Elena: I tell you it is, and if you must know, Why don’t you ask the old Countess, Back there behind your gates? Or can’t you find her? Can’t you tell one from another? Chorus: At night, all cats are gray María Elena: Well I can tell her story myself, Tanzler told me enough times He said she was his grandmother, But I doubt it All men think they’re noble The Goddess of Love is a fraud and a bitch Ruling the world as a whore divine With a thousand faces and a name for each And I am her slave, as you, Sir, are mine She’s Venus, Ishtar, Freia, Rati But worse than you know – she’s also a thief She makes people want what’s not theirs to take And lust for those things that only bring grief: Caligula fucked his old granny And Xerxes fell in lust with a tree Pasiphaë chose a bull as a stud, To name but the worst from antiquity. All may refuse and reject her decree Yet all are controlled by her sway; They may well object or they might agree All that results is that all will obey. Now I bring you a gift from the Goddess, Something that’s never before even been. Won’t you be pleased to be forced to commit An awesomely twisted original sin? We’re sending to you a passion unique A lust more perverse than a bull or a tree… You’ll love a woman who doesn’t exist Yet owned by a mistress who’s yet to be. We’ve probed your most secret dreams And according to these we’ll craft her And her flesh will be yours to love Forever and ever, then evermore after Now I bring you a gift from the Goddess Something that’s never before even been. Won’t you be pleased to be forced to commit An awesomely twisted original sin? And her flesh will be yours to love Forever and ever, then evermore after….
11.
12.
Arguments at the Gates of Death, Part 3: The hypocrites of the light (Tutti) Chorus: If sex and love are one Then your man sins twice Against the God of Time: he fucked you both before birth and after death he fucked you María Elena: Didn’t my first husband do the same? He left me when I bore a corpse. Our stillborn child was the death of his future, His failure, his first death of many Chorus: A sin against nature A sin against time A sin against love María Elena: Everyone does this… Don’t you see? Every time they buy stock, or plant a tree It’s fucking the future To dodge Death’s decree. In the dimension of Love, Time has no sway. Either it’s love, or it just fades away Chorus: Fucking a corpse is a sin María Elena: Everyone fucks the dead, You self-righteous prigs Chorus: Fucking a corpse is a sin María Elena: Everyone fucks the dead, You self-righteous prigs, No better than us And far less forthright. Chorus: Your sin is greater María Elena: Tell me again How much you all love Princess Diana, poor Marilyn Monroe La Divina Callas – Can you let them rest, at last? Chorus: Your sin is greater You upend all that is. Your sin is greater María Elena: And isn’t that Lenin I see Over there, in this limbo Chorus: You are desperate María Elena: He is not buried yet Suspended Adored by his few Remaining devotees Chorus: You are merely desperate María Elena: And let’s not even talk About Christ, you freaks… Whom you never let rest As you get on your knees And beg Him to return Chorus: You are desperately clinging to life By a phallic thread Let go María Elena: It’s only a sin now Because a woman calls the shot Chorus: Let go María Elena: That’s when the living speak Of sin and perversion And crimes against Nature. I see the dead Are no better than The hypocrites of the Light. I’ll show you my power I’ll make you watch So you have to admit Your hypocrisy Your hatred inspires me To new heights of love. I’ve never felt stronger Or sexier then now I declare I declare I declare my body My own, And this body Will be obeyed!
13.
My Corpse, Your Dungeon (Solo, María Elena) Chorus: {sounds of revulsion} Vile! Vile! Vile! María Elena: My corpse, your dungeon… Right? You love me, tho I’m dead inside I’ll let you, tho you haven’t died My corpse, your dungeon… Right? I triumphed, the first time I died I’d die twice if you were not inside Chorus: It reeks of life It reeks of life María Elena: Obey me, my thrall And love me once more But way more than before I’ll embrace my power And make the dead watch it all A show of compliance… Hold my pale fragile sheath Above you… Crawl beneath, Surrender your manhood To my act of defiance Thus I command, my Drone, Do what you’re good for But harder and more, So I can reign solely In this realm of my own. My corpse, your dungeon… Right? You love me, tho I’m dead inside Chorus: Sin against nature and Time María Elena: I’ll let you, tho you haven’t died My corpse, your dungeon… Right? I triumphed, the first time I died Chorus: You cling to life! María Elena: I’d die twice if you were not inside Chorus: You must let go María Elena: Water my dust bowl With your devoted seed The one thing I need, More than ever before, In my cold alpha hole Confess what you crave! Let all the dead see. You’re nothing without me, Unsung and forgotten, Except as my slave Now give it all here, Fuck with your whole life, Your dominant wife Now needs to blast off To the next stratosphere My corpse, your dungeon… Right? You love me, tho I’m dead inside I’ll let you, tho you haven’t died My corpse, your dungeon… Right? I triumphed, the first time I died I’d die twice if you weren’t inside
14.
15.
Afterglow (Solo, María Elena) Where am I now? I got here… how? Seems like the same spot… But, then again, not I haven’t moved… But everything feels Transfixed, Transformed Changed
16.
Double Call: Laudes Mortuarum Reprise and Finale (tutti) Maria Elena: Why? Why? Why? Why? Why must I hear, why must I hear, Must I hear them, I hear them still! I wish I had music To drown out their sound. Chorus : Morning comes Shhh Morning comes to the Eastern Shore Shhh Reveal the shadows gathered there, The newly dead of the Americas, Await our summons across the sand Maria Elena: Why can’t I block them out? Chorus : Arise, Arise, Shades! Arise, Shades! Fall in the parade, As single tears Augment the ocean of perpetual death María Elena: I wish I could fuck Louder than last time And not have to hear The choir of the dead. Chorus : Arise, Shades! Arise Suzy Kowolski, 56, Asbury Park… Car crash María Elena: Their song wears me out! Tanzler, come back… Chorus: Elgin McKay, 24, Kingston… gunshot María Elena: Tanzler, come back… Come serve me again As big as last time. Chorus : Raúl Rossi, 47, La Plata… cancer María Elena: Fill my dark, dank womb With your seed of light, Chorus: Catalina Pérez, 16, Veracruz… Died in childbirth María Elena: Keep me suspended Between two worlds Chorus: Carl Tanzler, 75, Key West… María Elena: Dead? Dead? Tanzler is dead? He can’t help me now. Is there another Who’d answer the call To a body like this? All men are quitters, All men are shadows, All men make chaos, Then vanish below All men leave me, All men deceive me, No man is sure, No man is my cure, They couldn’t save me there, And they won’t save me here. Chorus: Come, Tanzler, also called Doctor, and Count von Tanzler; Cause of death: Heart attack during sex… with a corpse María Elena: Fucking a corpse! A cause of death That’s a final joke The ultimate lay, His final day Sex so intense It’s a capital offense But how can I stay here If he’s no longer up there? I don’t want to die yet, And be part of a crowd… The dreary masses Of dull gray shades. I died once already Too soon: never again! Let no borders hold me! I fly above them. I am the unique one, Created by magic, To exist before birth And persist after death. I am La Suspendida, The genre of One! Chorus: María Elena Milagros, Key West, 21, tuberculosis María Elena: My name… again… Chorus: María Elena Milagros, Key West, 21, tuberculosis María Elena: No more Tanzler Chorus: No more necro María Elena: No more Body Chorus: No more sickness María Elena: No more living Chorus: No more prayers María Elena: No more loving Chorus: No more memories María Elena: No more messages From the living world Nothing left To pretend I’m alive Nothing more To keep me afloat Chorus: Daughter, daughter, daughter Come home María Elena: I thought I cheated life and death And found my own space Between kingdoms Where I alone ruled But that was a dream. I didn’t want to need him, To whore my corpse… I only wanted to take control Of my own life, Of my own body, My own fate. When I dared to rise over him From my position below, Was that moment “love”?
17.
Lullabye (Tutti) Chorus: Come, come It’s ok to expire Come, come Once your goal is won Come, come You can join the choir Come, come Once your solo’s done María Elena: Mother, true mother Not countess, nor she Who once gave me birth But all cradle Earth, I’ve craved you so long But I didn’t know how to come home As victor, not victim, Let me lie among you Let me rest at last I’ve craved you so long But now I know how to come home Yes, yes, yes

about

La Suspendida rewrites the tragic story of María Elena to give her the dignity that was robbed from her and making her the protagonist of her own destiny.
Whenever the case of Dr. Tanzler and María Elena has been depicted, the focus was on the perpetrator, and María Elena was always portrayed as a passive victim – in both life and in death.
La Suspendida subverts this paradigm, moving the focus away from Dr. Tanzler and putting the spotlight entirely on her.
Opera, an ode to the human voice, is a platform for that which is too large for life. It strives to connect the supernatural with the mundane, and is the right medium for Maria Elena's post- mortem narrative. The story of her journey through the limbo between life and death to healing, to her chosen, peaceful home, leaves no one in the audience untouched. Maria Elena blossoms, gives herself the love and attention she desires, and enjoys being all that she can be as a woman.
She not only sings about her new destiny, but also addresses the audience – all humanity – demanding the right to dignity and self determination. From this perspective, Dr. Tanzler is stripped of the power he once had over her and is relegated to the periphery of Maria Elena's life.
What is after her death is now belongs to her alone, and she holds all the power and creative agency for herself.
The form of opera itself has a tradition of empowering women beyond the surface level reading of the plots - the physical qualities of the strong, high female voice made the "diva" (literally, “goddess”) an essential element of the art form despite the many barriers to women appearing on world stages. It is significant that "opera singer" is considered the first career in the Western world in which women made independentfortunes - antedating even dramatic stage stars. This history is both explicitly acknowledged in La Suspendida and inherently embedded in the structure of a female soloist contending with all thevoices of the Eternal Void.

credits

released May 30, 2025

Produced by Laurent David

KILTER - Composition
Ed RosenBerg III: Bass Saxophone
Laurent David: Electric Bass
Kenny Grohowski: Drums

Libretto
William Berger

Andromeda Anarchia - María Elena
Dramatic Growloratura Soprano

Growlers Choir - The Choir Of The Dead
Pierre-Luc Senecal:Conductor, director
Maude Théberge, Marie-Claude Fleury, Corinne Cardinal, Jeff Mott, Samuel Arseneau-Roy, Laurent Bellemare - Growls, Screams and Whispers

SEVEN)SUNS
Earl Maneein: Violin
Adda Kridler: Violin
Sarah Zun: Viola
Jenny DeVore: Cello


Recorded and mixed by
Antoine Delecroix

Mastering
Fred Kevorkian (Brooklyn, NY, USA)

Light Show
Mathieu Derothe-Renaud

Artwork
Julie Castro-Grohowski

Logos
Peurduloup

Libretto translation
Anne-Pierre Hocquet


Concert recorded in
Le Forum (Vauréal, France)
November 16th, 2023

Full Album Running Time: 83mn

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KILTER Brooklyn, New York

Kilter is an instrumental metal-jazz trio inspired by the unrelenting hustle and
grind of New York City.
Founder and bassist Laurent David (Folterkammer, G. Perret, I. Maalouf) teamed up with drummer
Kenny Grohowski (Imperial Triumphant, John Zorn) and saxophonist Ed Rosenberg
III (Jerseyband, Heart of Barf) to create a daring and spontaneous work of avant-
garde metal
... more

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