Press
“The Hawaiian Kingdom’s last monarch composed seven songs in 1895 while she was under house arrest for allegedly knowing about an attempted coup to restore her to the throne. During this time, Liliʻuokalani prohibited from communicating with the outside world, but her musical compositions were a way to send messages of hope to her former constituents. The fact that Liliʻuokalani was a composer and championed Hawaiian music and culture inspired Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti to write an opera about the former Queen.”
— Michelle Broder van Dyke, “A new opera honors Queen Liliʻuokalani’s legacy,” Spectrum News