The opera will receive its world premiere during Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' 2018 Festival Season, opening June 3, 2018. Details about additional performance dates and casting will be forthcoming.
A 60-minute version of the opera was commissioned by Washington National Opera and premiered there in 2014 as part of WNO鈥檚 American Opera Initiative.
An American Soldier, according to press notes, is based on the "story of the tragic death of Chinese-American Army Private Danny Chen, who took his own life while stationed in a guard tower at a base in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Based on the ensuing courts-martial of Chen鈥檚 fellow soldiers, [the opera] addresses issues of patriotism, cultural identity, belonging, and otherness."
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis artistic director James Robinson will direct.
"We are thrilled to be working with Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang on this project," said general director O鈥橪eary statement. "As artists, they embody the kind of probing, meaningful work we aim to advance through Opera Theatre鈥檚 New Works, Bold Voices series. It鈥檚 an honor to be collaborating with them, and with our friends at the Washington National Opera, who commissioned and premiered the first version of An American Soldier. Through the moving story of Private Danny Chen and his family, this is a work that addresses the very question of what it means to be an American." Hwang's many plays include (which earned him his first Tony nomination and award), , Yellow Face, and Kung Fu. Named America鈥檚 most-produced living opera librettist by Opera News, he has written four works with composer , and collaborated on projects with Osvaldo Golijov, , and Unsuk Chin. In 2014, he became the director of Columbia University鈥檚 School of the Arts鈥� M.F.A. program in playwriting.
