As One (opera)

As One is a chamber opera for two voices and a string quartet composed and created by Laura Kaminsky with librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed.

"[4] The opera is scored for a string quartet and two singers, and consists of 15 discrete songs which depict important moments in Hannah's life throughout her coming-of-age story.

"[9] The New York Times said that the score "has deliberately ugly moments of slips and slides, but generally pulsates in a light post-Minimalism", and that "As One forces you to think, simultaneously challenging preconceptions and inspiring empathy.

"[3] Washington Post praised the opera, saying "As One, which opened last weekend… proved to be a thoughtful and substantial piece as well as that rarest of operatic commodities — a story that lends itself to dramatization in music."

The Washington Post described its music as portraying "fiddling and Americana; now, through halting dissonances, the pain of a difficult place in the road; now, through the juxtaposition of plucked violin and singing cello, the exploration of two voices merging into a single identity.