Any composer's relationship to music is intense, but Sarah Kirkland Snider , whose debut opera, Hildegard , receives its world premiere at the LA Opera this week, ratchets that intensity up to a higher, more metaphysical level. When Snider hears music, she says, she sometimes wants to eat it — that's how deep the desire goes. She's not traditionally religious, but she has come to see music as a mysterious, divine force within her.

That force has been gaining strength ever since the 52-year-old's breakthrough piece, Penelope , appeared 15 years ago. The song cycle tells the story of a psychologically damaged husband returning from war to a wife who tries to help him find himself again. The piece resonates in Snider's own life, as she's been open about her own struggles with depress

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