Today : world première of the 2 acts version of 'An American Soldier' by Huang Ruo in Saint Louis

Today, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents the world première of the new version of An American Soldier, an opera in 2 acts composed by Huang Ruo with a libretto by David Henry Hwang.

The first version was performed in Washington on June 13, 2014.

Danny Chen is the son of Chinese immigrants, and a proud American. He enlists in the US Army in 2011, eager to serve his country. In boot camp, Danny is welcomed by his band of brothers. But in Afghanistan, his own base becomes enemy territory as military hazing turns deadly. (reproduced from the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis website)

The cast includes tenor Andrew Stenson (Danny Chen), bass baritone Wayne Tigges (Sergent Aaron Marcum), mezzo Mika Shigematsu (Mother Chen) and soprano Kahtleen Kim (Josephine Young). Michael Christie conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Matthew Ozawa directs.

The score is published by Ricordi. According to the publisher, the required chamber orchestra (35 musicians) is the following :

- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons ;
- 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones ;
- 2 percussions ;
- strings.

The performance should last about 2 hours, including one intermission.

New in my collection : from the Santa Fe Opera Festival

I have recently acquired several items from the Santa Fe Opera Festival :

- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2009 (76 pages) , with an article on The Letter, new opera composed by Paul Moravec ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2013 (80 pages) , with an article on Oscar, new opera composed by Theodore Morrison ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2014 (80 pages), with an article on Dr. Sun Yat-sen, new opera composed by Huang Ruo ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2015 (80 pages), with an article on Cold Mountain, new opera composed by Jennifer Higdon ;

- Gene Scheer : Cold Mountain, libretto for the opera composed by Jennifer Higdon (78 pages) ;
- programme book for the 2015 season at the Santa Fe Opera (168 pages)

It contains only 8 pages entirely dedicated to this opera with :

- complete cast and crew (with B&W headshots) ;
- synopsis ;
- Ascending Cold Mountain, by librettist Gene Scheer ;
- A Note from the Director, by Leonard Foglia.

New in my collection : program book for Huang Ruo's 'Paradise Interrupted'

Yesterday, I have received in the mail the program book published by Spoleto Festival USA for the world première performance of Huang Ruo's new opera, Paradise Interrupted.

It is a 140 pages book including the complete program for all concerts and performances of the 2015 Festival. It contains 8 pages dedicated to Ruo's opera :

- Strangers in Paradise, by Lindsley Miyoshi ;
- complete cast and crew ;
- director's note and synopsis ;
- composer's note ;
- biographies of the creative team members, with B & W photos.

Here is a link to the flickr folder containing the covers of all program books I have for contemporary operas.

May 22nd, 2015 : world première of Huang Ruo's 'Paradise Interrrupted' in Spoleto USA

Today, Huang Ruo's new opera, Paradise Interrupted, with a libretto by Ji Chao, Jennifer Wen Ma, Huang Ruo, and Qian Yi, will be performed in Charleston (SC) as part of the Spoleto Festival USA.

It is at least Huang Ruo's third opera, after Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (2011) and An American Soldier (2014). This new opera marries Chinese tradition dating from the Ming Dynasty with contemporary Western idioms.

In a dream, a woman meets her lover and searches for an unattainable ideal as a vast garden grows from an empty stage, only to disappear as her dream ends. (reproduced from the Festival website).

The cast includes Joseph Dennis, John Holiday, Joo Won Kang and Ao Li (The four Male Soloists) and Qian Yi (Woman). John Kennedy conducts a chamber orchestra mixing Western and Chinese instruments. Jennifer Wen Ma directs.

Today : World première of Huang Ruo's opera 'An American Soldier' in Washington, DC

Today, the American Opera Initiative program of the Washington National Opera continues with the world première performance of An American Soldier, composed by Huang Ruo, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang. This one hour-long opera will be performed at the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center.

Here is the storyline of the opera, as found on the Kennedy Center website :

On October 3, 2011, Chinese-American Army Pvt. Danny Chen was found dead in a guard tower at his base in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The real circumstances behind his death, though, illustrate a darker undercurrent to life in the military. Based on a true story, and drawing from the ensuing courts-martial of Chen's fellow soldiers, An American Soldier explores what happens when the very people who are supposed to protect you in a combat zone become your enemy.

The cast is the following : Andrew Stenson (Pvt. Danny Chen), Guang Yang (Mother Chen), Trevor Scheunemann (Sgt. Aaron Marcum), Soloman Howard (Judge and Pvt. Manny Davis), Andrew McLaughlin, Michael Ventura and Jonathan Blalock. The singers will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra conducted by Steven Jarvi. David Paul directs.