SEVEN SISTERS a chamber opera score in progress
music by Justine F. Chen libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann
2022 EXCERPTS MSM 04.08.22 REVISION
PIANO VOCAL
SEVEN SISTERS a chamber opera music by Justine F. Chen libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann director: Aya Ogawa music director: Kelly Kuo dramaturg: Cori Ellison SYNOPSIS Framed by the ritual of a Taiwanese funeral, and threaded through with the myth of the Pleiades reimagined, this boldly theatrical new opera is inspired by composer Justine F. Chen’s powerful, complicated grandmother, matriarch of seven daughters. An exploration of the discordant legacy of bitterness and resilience A-Ma passes down to subsequent generations, Seven Sisters veers from the sublime awkwardness of caustic satire to wildly lyrical moments of emotional expansion via sounds ranging from the glamour of old Hollywood and 1950s Chinese cinema to Taiwanese folk music, Chinese Opera and kinetic, pulsating rhythms. As the funeral unfolds, the sisters wrangle over largesse, power dynamics, awkward expressions of love, and their fragmented memories of the moment A-Ma gave Sister #3 away as a baby—a haunting of sorts. In the presence of these rites, Maggie, a second-generation TaiwaneseAmerican, grapples with her disconnection from her forbears, her feeling of otherness, and her own complex relationship with her mother, Sister #1. Epic, stylized and hyper-real, deeply moving and unflinchingly funny, Seven Sisters looks at the hard truths of a culture that demeans and disempowers women and asks: How does the next generation move beyond this inheritance, bridging a cultural chasm that privileges silence? Recipient of the 2020 Opera America Discovery Grant for Female Composers and selected for West Edge’s Aperture Portfolio. The first music workshop was developed in partnership with Manhattan School of Music’s Artist Scholars Program and Vocal Arts Division.
Duration: 90 minutes Characters: 7 female vocalists, ideally all Asian Maggie, Daughter of #1, also plays young matriarch (A-Ma) – spinto Sister #1 – lyric soprano Sister #2 – lyric mezzo-soprano Sister #4 – soprano Sister #5 – mezzo-soprano Sister #6 – soubrette Sister #7 – coloratura soprano Orchestra: 10 strings (3 violins/3 violas/3 cellos/1 double bass) & 1 percussion (including bass drum, whip, bangu, temple bowls, crotales, tuned glasses) Development: libretto workshop: October 2020 (online); piano/vocal: April 8, 2022, Manhattan School of Music, NYC Contact: justinefchen@gmail.com • More info: www.justinefchen.com/seven-sisters-opera
SEVEN SISTERS score in progress a 90-minute chamber opera piano vocal draft
notes/SEVEN SISTERS Chen/Fleischmann April 8, 2022 MSM
music by Justine F. Chen libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann CHARACTERS Maggie 2nd generation Taiwanese-American, spinto, late 30s The sisters, in order of age, starting with oldest
#1 A-Jit, or Rita Maggie’s mother, the beleaguered nurturer • lyric soprano, the oldest, 50s/60s (also plays A-Ma in “the legend”) #2 A-Neng, or Hedy
the most educated, intellectual • lyric mezzo-soprano, 50s/60s (also plays A-GONG in “the legend”)
#4 A-Shee, or Audrey
the clotheshorse • soprano, 50s (also plays A-GONG in “the legend”)
#5 A-Goh, or Jean
comforted by food, lives in Taiwan • mezzo-soprano, 50s (also plays A-GONG in “the legend”)
#6 A-Lak, or Greta
the richest, tied with #7 for the most despicable • soubrette, 50s (also plays funeral parlor attendant; also plays A-MA)
#7 A-Chit, or Marlene
the most jealous/angry, lives in Taiwan • coloratura soprano, 40s/50s (also plays funeral parlor attendant; also plays A-Ma in “the legend”?)
(Note: Sister #3, who is absent, is called: A-San, or Marilyn) All also play A-Ma in the Hollywood-style number. And sing as part of the ensemble in the myth.
SYNOPSIS An unflinching, epic, funny exploration of the dysfunctions of family and the fallout of growing up Taiwanese-American and female. Juxtaposing the intensely personal with the sweeping presence of the universal, this boldly theatrical new chamber opera—recipient of a 2020 Opera America Discovery Grant for Female Composers and selected for West Edge’s Aperture portfolio—veers from the sublime awkwardness of caustic satire to wildly lyrical moments of emotional expansion, weaving together sounds ranging from the glamour of old Hollywood to Taiwanese folk music, to Chinese Opera, and a haunting emotional resonance rooted in the timeless struggle for agency and voice. Framed by the ritual of a Taiwanese funeral, and threaded through with the myth of the Pleiades reimagined, SEVEN SISTERS looks at the hard truths of a culture that demeans and disempowers women and asks: How does the next generation move beyond this legacy, bridging a cultural chasm that privileges silence?
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SEVEN SISTERS score in progress
notes/SEVEN SISTERS Chen/Fleischmann
TOTAL DURATION: 90 minutes LANGUAGES: American English, Taiwanese, Mandarin, words in Hebrew, Turkish, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and Ukranian. DESCRIPTION Composer Justine F. Chen’s mother was born in Taiwan, the oldest of seven sisters, daughters of a complicated matriarch, a businesswoman/politician whose power and influence Chen only truly understood upon attending her grandmother’s funeral in Taiwan in 2018. Her mother and her sisters, known in their family by birth order, are an embattled lot, who came of age in a culture that undermines the agency and self-worth of its girl children, stripping them of their voices. Chen’s grandmother raised her daughters for the society that did not value them, controlling them with rivalries, and inculcating them with society’s rules of wealth and power, and the understanding of a single directive: marry well. As a 2nd-generation American who barely speaks any Chinese dialect, Chen’s attempts to understand these dynamics have been stymied by mistranslation and a communication gap that, in many ways, is the source, the inspiration for Seven Sisters. In this 90-minute opera, the ritual of a formal Taiwanese funeral, seen from the perspective of Maggie, a second-generation Taiwanese American—frames a sequence of fractured memories centering on the fate of sister #3, who was given away at birth. As the funeral unfolds, and the sisters squabble over largesse and distribution of power, Maggie grapples with her disconnection from her inherited past, a feeling of otherness in the context of the present moment, and her complex relationship with her mother, sister #1. Recurring through the opera is the refrain, “Ghin dsao!” or “Get out!” which family members yell just before the deceased is to be cremated, urging their relative’s soul to separate from the body. A kind of raucous liturgy for releasing the spirit from its fetters, Seven Sisters evolves to become the means by which the second-generation can begin to know herself. Harnessing sharp humor and a dark lyricism, Seven Sisters looks at these often painful dynamics via a boldly theatrical, prismatic form. As the funeral unfolds, Maggie, a second-generation TaiwaneseAmerican, grapples with the static of her aunts’ animosities, struggling to understand what’s expected of her, the strange ways this family expresses love. Reliving her struggle to connect with her mother (#1), she attempts to move beyond this legacy, finding redemption through music. Interspersed between funeral and flashback is the myth of the Pleiades, the constellation known as Seven Sisters, which has given rise to legends across cultures, here reimagined as a flock of birds who touch down to earth to whisk ill-fated sister #3 away to safety. CULTURAL MANDATE from composer Justine F. Chen Taiwan, a small island of blurry political status, remains a cipher to many; my own understanding of my Taiwanese identity is limited to what’s been passed down, embedded in the dysfunctions of family. Giving voice to the story of these 7 sisters means creating a work that arises from a complicated and sometimes painful set of expectations and disconnects. Yet we have a strong mandate to honor my Taiwanese cultural antecedents, to make a work that resonates with that community as well as with a broader audience. In this particular instance, crafting the universal from the specific poses an intricate and exciting set of cultural challenges. The development of SEVEN SISTERS received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers Program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. The first music workshop was developed in partnership with Manhattan School of Music’s Artist Scholars Program and Vocal Arts Division.
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SEVEN SISTERS score in progress
notes/SEVEN SISTERS Chen/Fleischmann
BIOGRAPHIES JUSTINE F. CHEN, COMPOSER The “propulsive, emotionally resonant” (NYTimes) music of New York-born composer JUSTINE F. CHEN has been commissioned and presented by New York City Opera, New York City Ballet, The Juilliard School, American Lyric Theater, NYFOS, Tapestry Opera, JACK Quartet, OPERA America, American Composers Orchestra, and Chicago Opera Theater. Her first opera, The Maiden Tower, was presented by Juilliard, NYCO’s VOX 2006 Showcase, WQXR, Resonance Works, and Chants Libres. When featured in VOX 2008, her second opera, Jeanne, was praised as “lyrical, atmospheric... striking… balances despair and humor.” (NYTimes) Recent projects include an opera on the life of computer-scientist Alan Turing, and SHALLOW BREATH AND STEALTH, an oratorio for two-time Grammy award winning choral phenomenon, The Crossing. Recent honors include grants from the Jerome Fund for New Music, Frances Goelet Charitable Lead Trust, and the 2020 Female Discovery Grant from OPERA America. She has been featured on WNYC’s Studio 360, WBAI, Indie Opera Podcast, and Cincinnati Song Initiative. She received her DMA in composition from Juilliard, where she also earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in violin and composition. Dedicated to education, Chen created and teaches the compositionbased music curriculum at Pierrepont School, and teaches Theory and Composition at NYC’s Third Street Settlement. https://www.justinefchen.com/
*** STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN, LIBRETTIST STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN is a librettist and playwright whose “lyrical monologues” (New York Times), “smart” opera libretti (Opera News), plays, and music-theater works have been performed internationally and across the United States. Opera libretti (upcoming): In a Grove (Christopher Cerrone, Pittsburgh & LA Opera) Another City (Jeremy Howard Beck; Houston Grand Opera/HGOco); The Pigeon Keeper(David Hanlon; Santa Fe Opera); Arkhipov (Peter Knell; Seattle Opera/Jacaranda). Operas premiered: Poppaea (Michael Hersch; Wien Moderne, Vienna, & ZeitRäume Basel); The Long Walk (Opera Saratoga, Utah Opera, Pittsburgh Opera); After the Storm (HGOco). Texts for voice: Anna Clyne (Scottish National Chamber Orchestra), Chris Cerrone (Yale/Northeastern), Gity Razaz (Brooklyn Youth Chorus), Olga Neuwirth (Aldeburgh, Basel, Berlin). Plays and music-theater performed and developed c/o: the Flea/New Georges; HERE; EMPAC; Noorderzon, NL; Hudson Opera House; Red Eye; New Victory LabWorks; Roundhouse Studio (London), Exit Festival (France), MASS MoCA, Synchronicity, Roadworks, Son of Semele, Soho Rep, Mabou Mines/SUITE, the Public. Grants/Fellowships: Café Royal Cultural Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund, Howard Foundation Fellowship, 3 NYSCA Individual Artist Commissions, NEA Opera/Music-Theater, 3 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, Tennessee Williams Fellowship, Frederick Loewe and Whitfield Cook Awards; MAPFund, Opera America, NY State Music Fund, Greenwall Foundation, Macdowell, Hedgebrook. Alumna: New Dramatists; American Lyric Theater. B.F.A.: Wesleyan University; M.F.A.: Brooklyn College.
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SEVEN SISTERS score in progress
notes/SEVEN SISTERS Chen/Fleischmann
SCENES SUMMARY PROLOGUE • the myth We hear the cry of a baby. An otherworldly sonic landscape. The silhouettes of six young women—linked via their long black hair, braided together—emerge out of the darkness. As disembodied voices sing, the women levitate, pull apart, fly up into the sky. Like migrating birds, like stars. (Via shadow-puppet imagery or projections.) At the end of the scene, we find ourselves in a low-budget hotel room in Taipei, with a disoriented Maggie, freshly flown from America.
PART 1. SCENE 1 • ablutions (the night before the funeral, the present.) We find four of the seven sisters in mourning, watching A-Ma’s body get washed by Funeral Attendants. We learn about the sisters in their conversation. The sisters alternate between mourning and reminiscing. Maggie’s arrival to the washing is greeted with varying degrees of warmth.
SCENE 2 • the recital (in the U.S. — a memory of some years prior. A bad dream.) Maggie is having a terrible time, singing in either a recital or lesson with her taskmaster voice teacher. Her mother, #1 is also offering her own unwelcome brand of encouragement from the sidelines. It is like a bad dream. It is a bad dream- Maggie is awakened in her hotel room in Taiwan by Sister #4, who brings Maggie the dress of the only deceased Sister, #3.
SCENE 3 • lotus a-ma. seven sisters (the funeral #1; the present shifting into the remembered past.) It is a no-expense spared sumptuous funeral celebrating A-Ma’s life. Maggie feels lost in all the formalities, and struggles to make sense of it. The Sisters end up in a verbal brawl, Maggie observes and commentates on the various sisters. The Sisters assert their identities, and the absence of the deceased Sister #3 becomes more and more prominent. There is a flashback in Chinese Opera form to a highly stylized exchange between A-Ma and her husband (A-Gong), from the time of #1’s childhood.
SCENE 4 • the former president of Taiwan? (the funeral #2. The present. a kind of relentless replay. The sisters as funeral sound world.) We are back in that fancy funeral celebrating A-Ma’s life. Maggie - lost amidst all the unfamiliar formalities works to make sense of it all. Who was A-Ma? At the end of the scene, Maggie discovers that the former president has arrived to A-Ma’s funeral. Maggie is more perplexed than ever.
INTERLUDE • the myth. (a distant, dimly remembered past) Darkness. A female figure, in silhouette, furtive, secretive, holds a tiny child close to her chest. The figure ferrets the child away. We see another figure, a little girl, enter the space where the first figure was, looking around. We hear a fluttering of wings.
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SEVEN SISTERS score in progress
notes/SEVEN SISTERS Chen/Fleischmann SCENE 5A • you were all supposed to marry doctors (funeral #3, the present, a kind of replay) SCENE 5B • Reprise of Private moment SCENE 5C • Interlude Aria SCENE 6: number 1 (out of time. a mashup of present and past; the funeral falls away) PART 2: SCENE 7 • hiding out (the present of the funeral—the bathroom) Maggie had just had a terrible row with her mother at the funeral, and leaves the funeral to gather her wits. Sister #2 finds and comforts the frustrated and upset Maggie with a heartbreaking story from her own past of her lost child, and her own disconnect with the family and their expectations.
SCENE 8 • staring death in the face (the funeral #4, a little while later, tail end of tribute.) SCENE 9 • the third daughter eats fate • the legend [2]— (at home in Taipei. a remembered past) INTERLUDE SCENE 10 • ferragamo and kurosawa (the funeral — the present, reflecting on the recent past.) PART 3. SCENE 11 • the first-born (the myth and the legend) SCENE 12 • get out / the seventh sister (the cremation, the present. all time) MATERIALS AVAILABLE: IPA for Prologue, Scenes 1-4, Interlude, and 7 Recordings of non-English text by Native Speakers 4.8.22 Workshop Draft of Surtitles, PPT (from MSM workhop) LANGUAGES USED: PRODUCTION NEEDS: Taiwanese, Taiwanese-accented Mandarin, and American English language Coach Abilities for Projected Surtitles PA speaker system; Microphone with sfx for live Taiwanese voice actor or sound files
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SEVEN SISTERS score in progress LIST OF SCENES
PAGE
PROLOGUE • the myth (ca. 4:22) -
1
Offstage ensemble, Maggie (tutti)
SCENE 1 • ablutions (ca. 10:40) -
6
Sisters #1, #2, #4, #5; Funeral Attendants, Maggie (tutti)
SCENE 2 • the recital (ca. 4:44) -
25
Maggie, Sister #1, Processed Teacher’s Voice, Sister #4; 6 women
SCENE 3 • lotus a-ma. seven sisters (ca. 7:45) -
62
OFFSTAGE women, Sister #1onstage.
SCENE 7 • hiding out (ca. 6 min.) -
53
Sisters #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, Maggie (tutti)
INTERLUDE • the myth. (ca.1:30) -
31
Sisters #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, Maggie (tutti)
SCENE 4 • the former president of Taiwan? (ca. 3:23) -
notes/SEVEN SISTERS Chen/Fleischmann
64
Sister #2, Maggie; OFFSTAGE women
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