New American Opera — WORK — David Henry Hwang

An American Soldier / June 17, 2019 by David Hwang

AN AMERICAN SOLDIER

Libretto by David Henry Hwang
Music by Huang Ruo

On October 3, 2011, Chinese-American Army Pvt. Danny Chen was found dead in a guard tower at his base in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Based on his story, and drawing from the ensuing courts-martial of Chen's fellow soldiers, An American Soldierexplores what happens when the very people who are supposed to protect you in a combat zone become your enemy.

An American Soldier was commissioned by the Washington National Opera, and premiered as a one hour-long work, performed in English in 2014, directed by David Paul. The full-length version premiered in 2018 at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, directed by James Robinson.

Guang Yang as Mother Chen and Andrew Stenson as Danny Chen. Photo by Scott Suchman for the Washington National Opera, 2015

Andrew Stenson as Danny Chen. Photo by Scott Suchman for the Washington National Opera, 2015

Guang Yang as Mother Chen. Photo by Scott for the Washington National Opera, 2015

Andrew Stenson as Danny Chen. Photo by Scott Suchman for the Washington National Opera, 2015

Trevor Scheunemann as Sgt. Marcum and Andrew Stenson as Danny Chen. Photo by Scott Suchman for the Washington National Opera, 2015

The Voyage / June 15, 2019 by David Hwang

THE VOYAGE

Libretto by David Henry Hwang
Music by Philip Glass

Alternating between the exploration of space, and Columbus’ exploration of the seas, A Voyage is a general study of exploration - of the oceans, of space and time and of the mind.

The Voyage was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and premiered there in 1992, directed by David Poutney.