Writer/Librettist Jarrod Lee hails from Sylacauga, AL, and presently resides in Baltimore, MD. His work is influenced by his experience of being Black, Gay, and American, adding to the canon of stories written by Black Americans for the operatic stage and beyond.  

Lee’s current collaborations include Hello, Star, based on the children’s book by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, with composer Carla Lucero, co-commissioned by Opera Parallèle and The Peabody Institute, which will premiere in the fall of 2026, and Delta King's Blues,a retelling of the legend of blues guitarist Robert Johnson, with composer Damien Geter.  Last summer, Finger Lakes Opera premiered the chamber opera Two Corners, written with composer B.E. Boykin, with whom he also collaborated on the choral song Beyond What I See and Oshun, which was developed through Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative.   His What is Love? An AI Story with composer Timothy Amukele, was awarded Crowd Favorite and Runner-up with the ATL 96hr Opera Festival/Competition, and the art song See your Equal placed third in the composition category of the George Shirley Vocal Competition, with composer Ronald “Trey” Walton, who he also collaborated with on Voices of Zion.