Marella Martin Koch is a librettist, playwright, and lyricist whose work explores agency and its absence. 

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Her trio of operas with composer Nicolás Lell Benavides includes Pepito, Tres minutos, and Dolores. Pepito, a comedic opera about a lonely shelter dog, was commissioned and premiered by Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. The libretto was recognized for its ability "to sketch complete characters in swift sure lines" (Anne Midgette, The Washington Post) as well as its “cleverness in constructing humor for opera” (Susan Galbraith, DC Theatre Scene). The Pepito original cast recording has been lauded for its “lean and well-trimmed” storytelling “full of nuance and emotional pull” (Chris Ruel, Operawire) and features Joshua Blue, Alexandra Christoforakis Dixon, Alexandra Nowakowski, and Samuel J. Weiser. Since its Kennedy Center Premiere, Pepito has been produced by Chautauqua Opera, Opera Del West, Nashville Opera, Shreveport Opera, Utah Opera, and others. Her second opera with Benavides, Tres minutos, tells the story of two siblings who share DNA but not citizenship. Commissioned and premiered by Music of Remembrance with generous support from the Clovis Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Tres minutos "provides the observer with a rich account of both personalities. Thus, when they finally meet, that observer can appreciate not just the climax but also the frustration of the descent" (Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio). Since its premiere at Seattle's Benaroya Hall and San Francisco's Presidio Theatre, Tres minutos has been produced by Ópera Cultura and San Diego Symphony. Martin Koch's third opera with Benavides, Dolores, tells the story of a Dolores Huerta's leadership during the spring of 1968 as she fought for better working conditions for farm workers while canvassing tirelessly for Senator Kennedy's presidential campaign. Winner of the West Edge Opera Aperture Commission, Dolores is co-commissioned by BroadStage, Opera Southwest, and San Diego Opera, and slated to premiere in the 2025-26 season. 

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Martin Koch has written libretti for several additional operatic works, including Ten Minutes in the Life or Death of… with composer Tyler J. Rubin, a “quizzical and wonderstruck” phantasmagoria noted for its “pointed lyrics reminiscent of Sondheim” (Steven Winn, SF Classical Voice) and featured in West Edge Opera's 2021 Snapshot Series; the operatic short film For Mom with composer Michael Lanci, commissioned and produced by Parea Series; and the studio concept album Elinor & Marianne with composer Aferdian, featuring Meagan Martin, Jana McIntyre, Douglas Sumi, and Chérie Roe, and commissioned by The Rally Cat with support from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. 

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Other writing for the stage includes the full-length plays Friend Animals (Semifinalist, Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and SheNYC Arts), L Train Play, and nonprofit trash; the short plays Night, The Salamander Project, and Circle of Friends; book and lyrics for the musicals Danny & The Rocket (Winner of the Pocono Mountains Music Festival) with composer Casey O'Neil, How Love Feels with composer Jonathan Fadner, and 5th Grade Prison Ship and Adam & Eve with composer Minhui Lee. Her work has been presented in one-fifth of American states and developed and/or produced by American Opera Projects, Barrington Stage Company, Catwalk Institute, Common Man Musicals, The Duplex, The Electric Lodge, The Glimmerglass Festival, The Jane Austen & The Arts Conference, The Kraine Theater, La Jolla Playhouse Without Walls Festival, Midnight Oil Collective, PianoFight 2.0, Quinnipiac University Theater, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Writers Retreat, The Rally Cat, Tisch New Musical Theatre Workshop, Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum Seedlings, The Workshop Theater, and others. Since 2018, she has taught as a guest director, librettist, and dramaturg with graduate music-theatre programs across the country, including NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and USC’s School of Dramatic Arts. MFA, NYU/Tisch. BA, UC Berkeley.