Scottish Opera's evocative, intense new production of Ainadamar

With £10 tickets for Under 26s and a UK premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar opening this month, there's never been a better time to give Scottish Opera a go.

If you're a millennial or Gen Z theatre-lover looking for something new, there's never been a better time to check out Scottish Opera. Through their Under 26 Ticket Scheme, young opera-goers can access £10 tickets to all of Scottish Opera's mainstage shows, and, for some touring shows, tickets go for as low as £5. These discounted tickets are for some of the best seats in the house, and they make a night at the opera an attractive opportunity to see a breathtaking performance – and maybe to dress up a bit for the occasion. This month, Scottish Opera is staging the UK debut of Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar at Glasgow's Theatre Royal (29 Oct - 5 Nov) and Edinburgh's Festival Theatre (8-12 Nov).

Ainadamar is the first opera directed by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Deborah Colker, with music by Grammy Award-winner Osvaldo Golijov. The production sports an impressive host of collaborators and co-producers: Opera Ventures, Detroit Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and Welsh Opera are all on board. Originally staged in 2003, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, Ainadamarpromises to be an impressive fusion of opera and flamenco.

It tells the story of Spanish Civil War-era poet Federico García Lorca, who was executed during the war for (rumoured) homosexuality. Told through the eyes of Lorca's friend and muse Margarita Xirgu, Ainadamar draws inspiration from flamenco and other Andalusian sounds, from folk to electronic music. In addition to his Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Golijov has won the praise of several of our great living musical minds, including Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Paul Simon, and David Byrne. David Bowie once called Golijov the "greatest living composer," and Björk has called his music "simply thrilling." 

Read more at The Skinny

En Garde Arts Launches Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund

En Garde Arts Launches Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund

The award will recognize a mid-career theatre artist engaged in social change through the arts with an unrestricted $18,000 prize.

NEW YORK CITY: En Garde Arts has announced the creation of the Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund. Named in honor of the longtime En Garde Arts chairperson and board member, the award will recognize one mid-career theatre artist who is engaged in social change through the arts with an unrestricted $18,000 prize. En Garde Arts has raised a total of $100,000 through a group of generous donors and plans to recognize one mid-career artist every year for five years.

“I truly believe that if it weren’t for the incredible philanthropic abilities of Joan D. Firestone, En Garde Arts wouldn’t exist today,” said En Garde artistic director Anne Hamburger in a statement. “In addition to her fierce determination to support the arts in any way she can, she is above all an extraordinary human being and I am honored to launch this fund in her name.”

“Joan has been a nurturing voice and unbelievable champion of artists for decades,” added two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage in a statement. “I’ve long admired her generosity and genuine commitment to supporting theatre artists who are making work that is socially engaged, complex, and endeavors to have a meaningful dialogue with audiences.”

En Garde Arts will hold the first public developmental reading of the new work/work-in-progress within one year to 18 months from the original commission date. The theatre will hold no rights to future productions of the commissioned work. The nominating committee includes Kim Bendheim, Linda Chapman, Joan D. Firestone, David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage and Anne Hamburger. Consideration for the award is offered by invitation only and the prize will be presented by Lynn Nottage and David Henry Hwang at the En Garde Arts Gala on Thurs. Dec. 8 at Ideal Glass Studios.

Read more at American Theatre

Signature Theatre to Unveil 42 Street Intersection as Jim Houghton Way

Will Eno, Marin Ireland, David Henry Hwang and more will be taking part in the event.

On the afternoon of October 4, Signature Theatre will unveil the 
42nd Street and Dyer Avenue intersection in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood as the newly co-named Jim Houghton Way, celebrating the groundbreaking company's founder, James Houghton (1958-2016). For this festive gathering, legendary members of the city's theater community will come together in honor of Houghton, who formed the company in 1991 with a mission of supporting playwrights through a multi-play residency model designed to invest in a body of work and provide a supportive artistic home.

Houghton was beloved by the theatre community and known for supporting visionary playwrights and theatremakers including Edward Albee, Will Eno, Horton Foote, Athol Fugard, John Guare, Katori Hall, David Henry Hwang, Bill Irwin, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Adrienne Kennedy, and Sam Shepard.

Read more at Broadway World

Special Offer: Limited Tickets Available for Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA: In Concert!

Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA: In Concert
This is the story of a love that flourished in a time of hate!
Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls & David Henry Hwang

An enslaved Nubian princess, Aida, finds her heart entangled with Radames, an Egyptian soldier who is betrothed to the Pharaoh's daughter, Amneris. As their forbidden love blossoms, Aida is forced to weigh her heart against the responsibility that she faces as the leader of her people. Aida and Radames' love for one another becomes a shining example of true devotion that ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between their warring nations, heralding a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity.

September 30 & October 1, 2022 at TPAC's Polk Theater
Tickets available at https://www.studiotenn.org/aida

Read more at Broadway World

YALE IN HOLLYWOOD Fest; Esteemed Jury to include Obie Winning playwright David Henry Hwang.

Yale in Hollywood will present its third global virtual film festival, Yale in Hollywood Fest, from December 1 to 3, 2022, with a three-day line up of feature and short films and an esteemed alumnae jury consisting of actress Robinne Lee, Obbie winning playwright David Henry Hwang, last year's festival winner actor/writer Jeff Locker and actress/current Yale student Sophia Mitri Schloss.

Read more at Broadway World

Get a Look at M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera

Left-Right; Ensemble, Kangmin Justin Kim (Song Liling), Mark Stone (René Gallimard), photo by Curtis Brown Photography for the Santa Fe Opera

The operatic adaptation of the David Henry Hwang play features a libretto by Hwang and music by Huang Ruo.

The world premiere operatic adaptation of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly completes its run at Santa Fe Opera August 24. Hwang wrote the libretto, adapting his own script, with Huang Ruo (An American Soldier) penning the music. The opera began its run July 30. Watch highlights from the production above.

Countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim stars as Song Liling, with Mark Stone and Erik Grendahl sharing the role of René Gallimard, Hongni Wu as Comrade Chin and Shu Fung, Kevin Burdette as Manuel Toulon and Judge, and Joshua Dennis as Marc.

Read more at Playbill

See Photos of Santa Fe Opera's World Premiere Adaptation of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly

Kangmin Justin Kim (Song Liling), photo by Curtis Brown Photography for the Santa Fe Opera

See more photos at Playbill

Illusion and Betrayal in ‘M. Butterfly’

Huang Ruo, who wrote the music for the operatic adaptation of David Henry Hwang’s play, says its exploration of race, gender and power still resonates today.

The question from the Chinese-born composer Huang Ruo came out of the blue: Would David Henry Hwang, the American playwright, consider adapting his Broadway hit “M. Butterfly” for the opera stage?

It was 2013, and Huang, who had worked with Hwang on an Off Broadway revival of “The Dance and the Railroad,” was eager to collaborate again. The playwright agreed, and in late July, almost a decade after their first conversation, “M. Butterfly” had its premiere at Santa Fe Opera.

Like the play, the opera tells the story of René Gallimard, a civil servant at the French embassy in Beijing, who falls in love with Song Liling, a Chinese opera singer who seems to be the ideal woman. Gallimard eventually discovers that Song has been a man — and a spy — all along.

Read more at the New York Times

Having a birthday today, Aug. 11, 2022

Magazine columnist Marilyn Vos Savant is 76. Country singer John Conlee is 76. Singer Eric Carmen is 73. Computer scientist and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is 72. Wrestler-actor Hulk Hogan is 69. Singer Joe Jackson is 68. Playwright David Henry Hwang is 65. Actor Miguel A. Nunez Jr. is 63. Actor Viola Davis is 57. Actor Embeth Davidtz is 57. Actor Duane Martin is 57.

Read more Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

New York Public Library shares world's large archive of theatre recordings in new exhibit

Playwright David Henry Hwang with actors John Lone and Tzi Ma on the set of The Public Theater production of "The Dance and the Railroad" in 1981. (Martha Swope/Billy Rose Theatre Division)

The world’s largest collection of live theatre recordings turns 50 this year. To celebrate, the New York Public Library, which curates the massive collection, is welcoming guests to its new exhibit called “Focus Center Stage.”

Of the more than 8,000 titles featured in the collection, about 4,500 are recorded productions. Curator Patrick Hoffman says he wishes every production could be taped for the archives, but that it isn’t financially feasible.

“We select what we believe are the outstanding productions on Broadway, off-Broadway,” Hoffman says. “And we’ve also taped in regional theaters over the years, too.”

Read more at NPR Illinois

‘M. Butterfly’ a different spin on the Puccini opera

“M. Butterfly” turns Puccini on his head.

As beautiful as it is, “Madama Butterfly” presents problems of race, gender and cultural differences. Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, “M. Butterfly” offers a corrective, composer Huang Ruo says.

“There are issues with Puccini’s opera,” Ruo said in a telephone interview from Santa Fe. “Of course, it was written 100 years ago by a composer who had never been to the country.”

In Puccini’s version of this unrequited love story, the naval officer Pinkerton seduces and marries Cio Cio San, a young Japanese geisha with whom he has a child. He subsequently abandons her, marrying an American wife who returns to take the child.

In “M. Butterfly,” a French diplomat falls for a Chinese opera singer who presents him with a son. But it is the diplomat who falls into tragedy.

Read more at Albuquerque Journal

The butterfly effect

Song Liling (Kangmin Justin Kim) and René Gallimard (Mark Stone) in M. Butterfly; photo Curtis Brown for the Santa Fe Opera

David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly was the first play composer Huang Ruo saw in America after arriving here in 1996 to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. “I went because I knew Puccini’s opera,” he says, “and because I knew there was an Asian actor in it. I remember it was very shocking, and it struck me deeply.”

Twenty-six years later — and after three earlier collaborations — their operatic version of M. Butterfly will become the Santa Fe Opera’s 18th world premiere when it opens on Saturday, July 30.

Its plot is based on a real-life event. In 1986, a French diplomat and his romantic partner, a Chinese Opera singer, were convicted of spying for China. Their trial received international news coverage when it was revealed that for more than 20 years the diplomat had incorrectly believed the singer, who specialized in female roles, was a woman.

Hwang heard about the news reports at a Los Angeles cocktail party and was convinced it contained stage potential. About a year later, he had the “Aha!” moment that provided the entry point to the play. While driving down Santa Monica Boulevard, he asked himself, “What did the diplomat think he was getting with this Chinese actress?”

Read more at Santa Fe New Mexican

'M. Butterfly': The essentials

Cinese Opera singer Shi Pei Pu in performance

THE PREMIERE

July 30, 2022, at the Santa Fe Opera

THE PEOPLE

René Gallimard: a French diplomat posted to Beijing

Song Liling: a Chinese Opera performer

Manuel Toulon: French ambassador to China

Comrade Chin: People’s Liberation Army member

Marc: Gallimard’s childhood friend

THE PLOT

The action takes place in René Gallimard’s jail cell in Paris, where he is serving a sentence for treason, and in flashbacks to various dates and places in China and France. In 1964, Gallimard was sent to Beijing, where he fell in love with Song Liling upon hearing the Chinese Opera star sing “Un bel dì” from Madama Butterfly at a party. Their relationship develops, even as the Frenchman is unaware that Song is male. Gallimard begins to think of himself as the American sailor Pinkerton in Puccini’s opera and of Song as the geisha Butterfly.

Read more at Santa Fe New Mexican

Columbia University School of the Arts to Present New Plays Festival This Month

Columbia University School of the Arts will present an expanded festival of new plays written by Columbia MFA Playwriting Students. The esteemed faculty who have nurtured these students, including Tony, Pulitzer, and Obie Award winners such as David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Charles Mee, and Rogelio Martinez invite you to experience these innovative new playwrights.

This is the third round of their New Plays Festival presenting the work of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Playwrights of Columbia's MFA Theatre Program. The festival will run continuously throughout the summer.

Read more at Broadway World

Columbia University School of the Arts Presents A Festival of New Plays Written by Columbia MFA Playwriting Students

Fiona Gorry-Hines, Evie Mason, Kate Pressman, Alaudin Ullah, Tré Calhoun, Kanika Asavari Vaish, morgan mcnaught, Clarity Bian, and Daniel Irving Rattner.

Columbia University School of the Arts presents an expanded festival of new plays written by Columbia MFA Playwriting Students. The esteemed faculty who have nurtured these students, including Tony©, Pulitzer, and Obie Award winners such as David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Charles Mee, and Rogelio Martinez invite you to experience these innovative new playwrights.

This is the third round of our New Plays Festival presenting the work of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Playwrights of Columbia's MFA Theatre Program. The festival will run continuously throughout the summer.

From the Head of Playwriting, David Henry Hwang: "These plays have been created by visionary writers under extraordinary circumstances. Some were originally scheduled to be produced as far back as 2020; others were written during the pandemic itself. Like theatre itself, they have survived the shutdown of our art form to come roaring back to life. We are so proud of what our writers have achieved during these challenging and traumatic times. Enjoy the rebirth!"

Read more at Broadway World

Arama! Japan Interviews Keito Okamoto

Starting today through July 10, Keito Okamoto will play the role of Song Liling in David Henry Hwang‘s play “M. Butterfly” at the New National Theatre Tokyo. The play will continue on to Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya in July.

I recently sat down with Keito on a video call (all in English) to discuss the play, its LGBT content, his time in New York at drama school, his departure from Hey! Say! JUMP, and more. Check out Keito’s first English language interview below!

Read more at Arama Japan

Five productions, including the world premiere of ‘M. Butterfly,’ will hit the high notes in Santa Fe

The Santa Fe Opera will serve fresh twists on classics by Bizet, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner, spiced with the world premiere of “M. Butterfly.”

Based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name, “M. Butterfly” germinated when the composer Huang Ruo’s opera “Dr. Sun Yat-sen” opened at Santa Fe in 2014. “M. Butterfly” will open July 30.

“He saw the play when he was back in college at Oberlin,” SFO general director Robert K. Meya said.

“M. Butterfly” playwright David Henry Hwang said he’d always imagined his piece transformed into an opera.

Santa Fe commissioned the work from the two artists.

Read more at Albuquerque Journal

David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face, Directed by Aladdin's Telly Leung, Begins June 22 at Theatre Raleigh

Performances of the 2007 work, inspired by a Miss Saigon casting controversy, continue through July 3 at the North Carolina venue.

Aladdin star Telly Leung directs Theatre Raleigh's production of Tony winner David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face, which plays the TR Studio Theatre June 22-July 3.

The cast features Hansel Tan (Ping Pong) as DHH, Pascal Pastrana (Mean Girls) as Marcus, Alan Ariano (M. Butterfly) as HYH and Others, Liam Yates as Announcer and Others, Brook North as Stuart Ostro and Others, Ali Evarts as Jane and Others, and Kylie Robinson as Leah Anne Cho and Others, with standbys Tedd Szeto, Ada Chang, and Gus Allen.

Yellow Face blurs the lines between truth and fiction as Asian-American playwright Hwang leads a protest against the casting of a white performer, Jonathan Pryce, as the lead in the original Broadway production of Miss Saigon, condemning the practice as “yellow face.” His position comes back to haunt him when he mistakes a Caucasian actor for mixed-race, and casts him in the lead Asian role of his own Broadway-bound comedy, Face Value.

Read more at Playbill

ALL AGENTS DEFECT: ESPIONAGE IN THE FILMS OF DAVID CRONENBERG

While the director is often tied up with body horror, the great themes of espionage fiction are present in nearly all his work.

David Cronenberg is that rare filmmaker who is a genre unto himself, such that his name has become an adjective. Yet, when his name is invoked, it’s usually as shorthand for body horror. Certainly, and in spite of his objections, this is to be expected: more than any other director, Cronenberg has examined, in detail both coldly clinical and gleefully perverse, the ways in which psychosexual desire, trauma, and society’s increasing dependency on technology manifest in the gruesome evolution and/or evisceration of the human body. 

Indeed, we see a fresh example of this in the promotion and reception of his latest film—his first in eight years—Crimes of the Future (available on VOD today), despite the fact, for as horrific as many of the images and ideas within it are, it’s not really a horror movie. That said, the last thing I want to do is make another tired argument over what counts as a horror movie. Rather, I want to make the case that Cronenberg deserves to be equally synonymous with a different genre, one that he’s spent as much time exploring as body horror. 

That genre is espionage.

M. Butterfly. Based on David Henry Hwang’s stage play (itself loosely based a true story), the film sees an French diplomat (Jeremy Irons) engage in a passionate affair with a female Beijing opera singer (John Lone) who he discovers is not only actually a man, but a spy for the Chinese government sent to seduce him into revealing classified information

One of Cronenberg’s most underseen and underrated works, M. Butterfly holds up exceptionally well today, not necessarily as a trans drama (although it certainly approaches its subject matter with more sensitivity and sympathy than other, similarly-themed films from the same time) but as a damning indictment of white, Western orientalist fantasies and naivety.

Read more at Crime Reads

RUTH LEON RECOMMENDS… DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER – SAN FRANCISCO OPERA

Dream of the Red Chamber – San Francisco Opera
​
​Click here to watch  : Livestream is on June 19 at 2 pm PT and then available on demand until June 22

 Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang’s Dream of the Red Chamber, the musical retelling of the 18th-century novel by Cao Xueqin, one of China’s literary masterworks, played to sold-out audiences during its world premiere run at San Francisco Opera in 2016. It now returns to San Francisco Opera with a new cast in the original production by director Stan Lai, with sets and costumes by Academy Award-winning production designer Tim Yip and lighting design by Gary Marder.

The opera, sung in English, was rapturously received at its premiere. Playwright David Henry Hwang worked closely with Sheng on the work’s libretto, creating a three-hour opera from a vast literary epic.

Read more at Slippedisc