Adoration
Alan Pierson | Silvana Quartet | The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Young Simon: Sammy Ivany
SILVANA QUARTET
Violin I: Courtney Orlando, Violin II: Nicole Sharlow Viola: Gillian Gallagher, Cello: Maria Bella Jeffers
TRINITY WALL STREET
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street Session Producer: Melissa Baker The Choir of Trinity Wall Street Session Conductor and Producer: Thomas McCargar
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street Session Engineer: Kevin Kim
SOPRANO: Shabnam Abedi, Elizabeth Bates, Sonya Headlam
Aine Hakamatsuka, Madeline Apple Healey, Amaranta Viera, Elena Williamson
ALTO: Meg Dudley, Catherine Hedberg, Clifton Massey, Kirsten Sollek, Pamela Terry
TENOR: Ryland Angel, Timothy Hodges
Nickolas Karageorgiou, Tommy Wazelle, Steven Caldicott Wilson
BASS: Matthew Goinz, Harrison Hintzsche, Richard Lippold, Edmund Milly, Neil Netherly
ADDITIONAL
Pre-recorded TSA Agent: Luke Noftal|Pre-recorded principal: Royce Vavrek
Pre-recorded chat room participants: Anna Davidson
Mishael Eusebio, Maria Jeffers, Gillian Gallagher, Janik Gosselin
Mary Kouyoumdjian, Justine Ledoux, Beth Morrison
Luke Noftall, Courtney Orlando, Alan Pierson, Laine Rettmer
Album Produced by Mary Kouyoumdjian
Live Sound, Recording and Album Mix by Daniel Neumann
Album Editing, Mastering by Bernd Klug, Album Assistant Editing by Jeanne Hill
Executive Producer: Beth Morrison Projects, Cover Art and Design by Mary Kouyoumdjian
Recorded Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, New York, NY, January 12-20, 2024
I believe that artists are the speakers of difficult truths. As a member of a family displaced from both the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, I consider my freedom of expression here in the United States to be an immense privilege, and so I am drawn to stories that are both challenging to confront and to speak––stories that examine the darkest moments in our history, create space to listen to our minds’ most hushed thoughts, and to connect with complicated and incredibly human characters who reflect complex positions in our society. Filmmaker Atom Egoyan has created such a story with his film Adoration, and I am incredibly grateful to have spent the last several years living in this wonderfully challenging space in adapting his film into an opera.
While Egoyan’s film was released in 2008, its commentary on religious and ethnic differences and prejudices is all too timely. Our world continues to be fractured over unresolved multi-generational traumas that can cause horrifying divisions, globally and often in the closeness of our own families; however, like the story behind Adoration, individuals and communities, at their very best, also find beautiful ways through these divisions. Like the film, this opera is about big, complicated ideas around identity and our concealed biases that we all inherently have, but what I love most about Egoyan’s story is that these are all explored through the lens of a grieving family––these uncomfortable and larger-than-life ideas feel closer-to-home as we watch the characters move through immense psychological changes with their evolving grief. This family, like any other, invites you to empathize with them, for better or worse.
In addition to Egoyan’s film and my own family’s histories, my collaborators and dearest friends have been immense inspirations behind the world we have all created together for this opera. Librettist Royce Vavrek, director Laine Rettmer, creative producer Beth Morrison, music director Alan Pierson, and the entire extraordinary creative team have been working through these truly difficult ideas together and have somehow all been able to leave their own creative stamp on this project all while building the same stunningly strange project together. My immense gratitude goes out to all involved who have poured their hearts and creative energy into the sounds of this composer’s first opera––I adore you all so much. Royce, what an incredible gift for both of us to have grown up in different places in the world with Egoyan’s films as our creative compass. Thank you for your thoughtful words and for sharing this moment with me, friend.
MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN is a composer and documentarian with projects ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she uses a sonic palette that draws on her heritage, interest in music as documentary, and background in experimental composition to progressively blend the old with the new. Astrong believer in freedom of speech and the arts as an amplifier of expression, her compositional work often integrates recorded testimonies with resilient individuals and field recordings of place to invite empathy by humanizing complex experiences around social and political conflict.
Afinalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her live music-documentary Paper Pianos, Kouyoumdjian has received commissions for such organizations as the New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beth Morrison Projects, OPERA America, Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can, La Jolla Symphony, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Roomful of Teeth, WQXR, Experiments in Opera, Helen Simoneau Danse, Friction Quartet, and One Found Sound among others. Her work has been performed internationally at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MASS MoCA, the Barbican Centre, BrooklynAcademy of Music (BAM), Millennium Park, Benaroya Hall, Prototype Festival, the New York Philharmonic Biennial, Cabrillo Festival, Big Ears Festival, Redcat, SF Jazz, and Cal Performances. Her music has been described as “eloquently scripted" and "emotionally wracking” by The New York Times, “grippingly theatrical” and “never far from profound rapture” by the LA Times, and as "politically fearless" and "the most harrowing moments on stage at any New York performance" by New York Music Daily. Notable film collaborations include writing the original score for documentary An Act of Worship (Capital K Pictures and PBS’s POV Docs) and orchestrating the soundtrack to The Place Beyond the Pines (Focus Features). Recently her opera Adoration, adapted fromAtom Egoyan’s 2008 film, received its west coast premiere at LAOpera, and her debut portrait album, WITNESS with the Kronos Quartet, was released through Phenotypic Recordings.
Kouyoumdjian holds a D.M.A. and M.A. in Composition at Columbia University, an M.A. in Scoring for Film & Multimedia from New York University, and a B.A. in Composition from UC San Diego. She is on composition faculty at The New School. www.marykouyoumdjian.com
ROYCE VAVREK isaCanada-born,Brooklyn-basedlibrettistandlyricistwhohasbeen called“theindieHofmannsthal”(The New Yorker) a “Metastasioofthedowntownoperascene”(The Washington Post),“anexemplarycreatorof operaticprose”(The New York Times),and“oneof themostcelebratedandsoughtafterlibrettistsintheworld”(CBCRadio).Hisopera“Angel’sBone”withcomposerDuYunwasawarded the2017PulitzerPrizeforMusic.
WithcomposerMissyMazzolihewrotetheoperas“SongfromtheUproar,”“Breaking theWaves,”“ProvingUp”and“TheListeners”,allof whichhavereceivedmultiplepresentationsinoperahousesaroundtheworld.Theyarecurrentlydevelopingtwonewgrandoperas,“The GallopingCure”,withanoriginalstorybyKarenRussellforOperaVentures/ScottishOpera,and“Lincolnin theBardo”,basedonGeorge Saunders’BookerPrize-winningnovelfortheMetropolitanOpera.Thelatterwillbethefirstworldpremierebyafemalecomposer inthe Met’snearlycentury-and-a-halfhistory.MissyandRoycewerebothawardedthe2023Mark BlitzsteinMemorialAwardfromtheAmerican AcademyofArtsandLetters.
TeamingupwithSwedishcomposerMikaelKarlsson,Roycewrotethestoryandtextfortwodanceprojects,“Crypto,”choreographedby GuillaumeCôtéforCôtéDanceand“EvidenceofItAll,”choreographedbyDrewJacobyforSFDanceworks,featuringnarrationbytheAcademy Award-nominatedactressRosamundPike.In2023theypremieredtheiradaptationofLarsvonTrier’s“Melancholia”attheRoyalSwedish Opera,and2024sawthebowoftheiradaptationofIngmarBergman’sOscar-winningfilm“FannyandAlexander”atLaMonnaiedeMunt
He has also worked with composers David T. Little (“Dog Days”, “JFK”, “Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera”), Ricky Ian Gordon (“27” and “The House Without a Christmas Tree”), Paola Prestini (“The Hubble Cantata”, “The Old Man and the Sea” and “Silent Light”), Daníel Bjarnason (“Hands on Me”), Gregory Spears (“O Columbia”), Rachel Peters (“The Wild Beast of the Bungalow”), Luna Pearl Woolf (“Jacqueline”), and Mary Kouyoumdjian (“Adoration”).
Royce is the Artistic Director of Toronto’s experimental opera company Against the Grain. He holds a BFA in Filmmaking and Creative Writing from Concordia University (Montreal) and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at NYU. He is an alum of American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program. www.roycevavrek.com
ALAN PIERSON has been praised as " a dynamic conductor and musical visionary" by The New York Times, a "conductor of monstrous skill" by Newsday, "gifted and electrifying" by the Boston Globe, and " one of the most exciting figures in new music today" by Fanfare. He is theArtistic Director and conductor of the acclaimed ensembleAlarm Will Sound, which has been called "the future of classical music" by The New York Times and " a sensational force" with "powerful ideas about how to renovate the concert experience" by The New Yorker Mr Pierson served as theArtistic Director and conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The New York Times called Pierson’s leadership at the Philharmonic "truly inspiring," and the New Yorker's Alex Ross described it as “remarkably innovative, perhaps even revolutionary”
As a guest conductor, Pierson has appeared with the LosAngeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, L.A. Opera, Nationaltheater Mannheim, the London Sinfonietta, the Steve Reich Ensemble, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the New World Symphony, and the Silk Road Project, among other ensembles. He is co-director of the Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble, and has been a visiting faculty conductor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and at the Banff Centre for theArts and Creativity.
Pierson regularly collaborates with major composers and performers, including Yo Yo Ma, Steve Reich, Dawn Upshaw, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams, David T. Little, Augusta Read Thomas, David Lang, Donnacha Dennehy, La Monte Young, Tyshawn Sorey, and choreographers John Heginbotham, Christopher Wheeldon, Akram Khan and Elliot Feld. He has spearheaded critically acclaimed cross-genre collaborations with artists like Yasiin Bey, Erykah Badu, and Medeski Martin and Wood. Pierson is passionate about creating theatricalized performance experiences that use music, theater, and multimedia to connect listeners more deeply to great music. Beyond his work in the concert hall, Pierson is an avid recording producer and artist, having released 30 albums on Nonesuch Records, Sony Classical, Cantaloupe Music, Oehms Classics, and Sweetspot DVD. In 2022, he received the Eastman School of Music Centennial Award. Mr. Pierson received bachelor degrees in physics and music from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in conducting from the Eastman School of Music. www.alanpierson.com
With eighteen feature films and related projects, ATOM EGOYAN has won numerous awards including five prizes at the Cannes Film Festival –the Grand Prix, International Critics Awards and Ecumenical Jury Prizes – two Academy Award® nominations, twenty-five Genie Awards – now Canadian Screen Awards – including three Best Film Awards – prizes from the National Board of Review and an award for Best International Adaptation at The Frankfurt Book Fair.
Egoyan has also directed several award-winning theatre productions. He has been recognized for his critically-acclaimed opera productions and was honoured with a 2016 Opera Canada Award (Rubie) for Film and Stage Direction.
“Seven Veils”, Egoyan’s most recent film, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2023, before its International Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and was Opening Night Gala at the Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia last summer. www.egofilmarts.com
Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) is one of the foremost creators and producers of new opera-theatre and music theatre, with a fierce commitment to leading the industry into the future, cultivating a new generation of talent, and telling the stories of our time. Founded by “contemporary opera mastermind” (LA Times) Beth Morrison, who was honored as one of Musical America’s Artists of the Year/Agents of Change in 2020, BMP has grown into “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” (Financial Times), with Opera News declaring that the company, “more than any other… has helped propel the art form into the twenty-first century.” Operating across the US and internationally, with offices in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, BMP’s unique model offers living composers the support, guidance, and freedom to experiment, allowing them to create singularly innovative and impactful projects. Since forming in 2006, the company has commissioned, developed, produced and toured over 50 works in 14 countries around the world. www.bethmorrisonprojects.org
About Adoration
An adaptation of Atom Egoyan’s 2008 film of the same name, opera Adoration follows Simon, an orphaned high school student. As part of a dramatic writing exercise, Simon’s teacher encourages him to appropriate details from a harrowing news event as something perpetrated by his parents. When his story goes viral, Simon uses the hysteria within his community and on the internet to highlight the challenges of intolerance and racism in our society. The fictional and actual circumstances of the loss of Simon’s family are revealed in fragments, only fitting together with the final revelation that the prejudices of Simon’s maternal grandfather led to his parents’ deaths. Hate is too often portrayed as binary. We either hate or we don’t. We hate someone for something they did or some perceived slight, or we hate “the other.” Yet we are not born with hate—it is learned, nurtured, and developed over the course of a lifetime. Adoration tells two simultaneous stories—a fictional story of terrorism and betrayal juxtaposed with a real story of family strife and rejection of something foreign.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This work includes adult language and text/sounds on topics of violence and discrimination that some listeners may find disturbing and may not be suitable for children. This work includes sounds of explosions that may feel triggering for those who experience PTSD.
1. Pre-Show
Spoken word:
InLondontoday,anattemptedterroristattackwasintercepted byIsraelisecurityguards.Theman,32year-oldNezarHindawi, hadplantedexplosivesinthebagofhis pregnantgirlfriend,IrishwomanAnne-MarieMurphy.TheplanewasheadedtoTelAviv.Murphyclaimedto knownothing oftheexplosives inherbag. Shetoldofficialsthat shehadbeensentontheplanebyHindawitomeethisparents.Hindawiisnowhereto befound,andofficialsare searchingforanyinformation astohiswhereabouts. WearereportingfromLondon,wherejustyesterday,airportsecurityinterceptedanattempttoexplodeElAlAirlinesFlight#016.The terrorist, 32year-old JordanianNezar Hindawihadsenthispregnantgirlfriend,IrishwomanAnne-MarieMurphy,withabagfullofexplosives.Theflight had375passengersonitandwasflyingto TelAviv. Thankfullynoonewashurt.AfteralongsearchforHindawi,hehasreportedlysurrenderedhimselftothepolice.
OnApril17,1986,IsraelisecurityinterceptedanattemptedterroristattackonaflightdepartingLondonforTelAviv. 32-yearoldJordanianNezarHindawihadsenthis pregnantfiance,IrishwomanAnne-MarieMurphy,with1.5kilogramsofSemtexexplosivesinherbag.Murphy claimedtoknownothingoftheexplosivesandstatedthatshe hadbeenflyingtotheHolyLandtomeetHindawi’sparentsbeforemarriage
SIMON Innocence is hard to describe.
Like a scent, A thing that some people carry. My mother was innocent.
I was raised to hate my father… For what he did. I did my best to forget everything.
Last week,
An article was read to us in French class. A story about a man who planted a bomb
4. Chatter
5. Bethlehem’s Sunshine
SIMON Innocenceishardtodescribe.
SAMI Icanfeelthebabykicking.
RACHEL Noyoucan’t.
In his pregnant wife’s luggage
As she flew to Tel Aviv. I did my best to forget everything. But it all came back. A wave of memories.
My father was a monster. My father planted a bomb In my mother’s luggage. From the moment the bomb was found Security officials knew That my mother had nothing to do it with. They knew she was innocent…
SABINE
It is very impressive, Simon. Important.
SIMON Why is it important?
SABINE
Because most people walk through life unprovoked. Ignorant to the values of others. Ignorance is antithetical to bliss.
SIMON
I’m not sure I follow. Should I post the video?
SAMI Ican! There… Hekickedagain!
RACHEL Whycan’tyoucomewithme?
SAMI It’sabusinessdecision.
RACHEL I’llwaitforyou.
SAMI
No no, you fly.
I’ll be two days behind you.
You are not to worry. They will treat you like a queen. Enjoy the sunshine.
You will love Bethlehem’s sunshine. Okay?
RACHEL Okay. Athing thatsome people carry. My mother was innocent.
I was raisedto hate my father… For whathe did. I did my best to forget everything.
Last week, Anarticle was read to usin French class.
Astory about a man who planted a bomb in his pregnant wife’s luggage as she flew to Tel Aviv.
I did my best to forget everything. But it all came back. Awave of memories.
6. Mom
MORRIS
Youwereluckyyouhadamomlikeher. Irememberyouwatchingher, She’dstandonthedock, Offeringmusic Totheducksandgeeseofthelake. Youstoodfrozen, Apillar:likemarbleormaybesalt… Iwatchedyou,watchingher. Andshewasalwayssinging. Whyspeakwhenyoucansing? Aroundthehouse, Intheyard, Shesang. Hertalentswereneverhidden. Thedayshemettheviolin… Herfingersknewexactlywheretheylived, Themelodieserupted. Theyneedednointroduction.
7. Motivation
CLASSMATES
You uncle on the other hand…
His talent was mischief. Always trouble. You are not to inherit his behavior.
You were lucky, Simon.
To have a mom like her.
And she was lucky to have a boy like you. That’s what he stole.
And I will never forgive him.
SAMI For you.
RACHEL
They are beautiful.
-Today one of my classmates, a boy named Simon, decided to assassinate his father’s character…
-He posted a video… outed his father as being a terrorist.
-Simon is my best friend. It’s all so confusing. I didn’t know anything about it.
-You have to wake up and stop living in your ignorant little box.
-What purpose do you think this served? Why did he choose to bring this up now, in an assignment…
-This is just lame cry for attention.
-If Simon wants to be heard, let’s listen. If he chooses not to offer anything else, let’s give him space.
8. Baby Jesus
TOM
The sheep have all warped, That would be a good project… Recut them and the shepherds.
SIMON I’m not so good with my hands.
TOM You’re a teenage boy
SIMON
What’s that supposed to mean?
TOM I remember being your age. I had a good relationship with my hands.
SIMON Whatever.
SAMI
You make them beautiful. We’ll get married over there. Is that what you’d like?
RACHEL
This is so surreal… a dream. When I first told you I was pregnant. You said I was on my own. You wanted nothing to do with it.
SAMI
I was confused
RACHEL
I am confused
You were confused.
SAMI
Sometimes it is impossible
To see, to accept blessings.
RACHEL
And now you do?
SAMI
You are the greatest blessing. I will love you for always.
RACHEL Forever.
SAMI
For always
MORRIS
It was no accident. You’ve got to believe me.
SIMON
Many of you are wondering about my motivation. Why I didn’t tell anyone before… I only found out a few months ago myself. My grandpa… before he died, He answered a lot of questions.
I’ve kept this video as a reminder…
MORRIS
You have to believe me, Simon. Your father was a killer.
TOM I’m ready for the three kings. They’re behind the pressure washer.
TOM
Add Baby Jesus to the list. Replace him… and the manger.
SABINE
A beautiful nativity. To express your faith in such a way…
Every year, to rejoice in the birth of Christ. Beautiful.
TOM Uh… yeah.
SABINE
Is this your son?
8. Baby Jesus (cont)
TOM Ummmm. Nephew.
SABINE Family.
We, too, believe Jesus was a prophet.
SIMON
The Jews, as well…
9. The Holy Land
BORDER CONTROL AGENT
You speak Hebrew?
RACHEL No.
BORDER CONTROL AGENT
You will be staying in Tel Aviv?
RACHEL
We are going to the Holy Land.
BORDER CONTROL AGENT
Who is “we”?
RACHEL
Me and my fiancé.
BORDER CONTROL AGENT
He is not traveling with you?
RACHEL
He has to stay for business.
He will meet me in a couple of days.
10. Viral
CLASSMATES
SABINE The Jews?
SIMON
Believe that Jesus was a prophet.
SABINE
Yes, a prophet, But not the Messiah. That’s why they killed him.
BORDER CONTROL AGENT
You’re pregnant?
RACHEL Yes
His family will take care of me.
BORDER CONTROL AGENT Where do they live?
RACHEL In Bethlehem.
BORDER CONTROL AGENT
They live in Bethlehem?
RACHEL Yes, Bethlehem.
SABINE (recites in french)
SIMON (recites in english)
Although this happened many years ago. This story is often used to illustrate The effectiveness of Israeli security measures.
-I feel sorry for him. But I can’t feel any respect or humanize anything that he did.
-It was implanted in his mind from the beginning.
TOM What the fuck.
SABINE Excuse me?
TOM Excuse you! This is private property.
SABINE The road?
TOM My lawn.
SABINE Goodnight.
The woman was stopped,
As are all passengers traveling on the airline, And interviewed by an agent. Aspects of her story aroused suspicion,
Including the fact that she was traveling without her husband, The father of her unborn child.
According to behavioral profiles of Israeli security, pregnant women rarely travel alone.
BORDER SECURITY AGENT
Why do you carry such little money?
RACHEL
His family will take care of me.
BORDER SECURITY AGENT
They will take you to Bethlehem
Where you will get married
To the man you’re not traveling with?
RACHEL Yes.
-That’s our culture. So much is implanted in our minds. We need to buy Nike shoes. We need big logos on our sweatshirts. It’s how we’re all raised.
-Just like how blowing shit up is implanted in their brains. We can’t escape capitalism and they can’t escape suicide bombers. -But when it hurts other people…
-It does hurt other people.
10. Viral (cont)
-Why are we talking about capitalism versus terrorism?
-Maybe capitalism is a form of terrorism.
-Our minds have been force-fed values… and maybe they’re wrong and we don’t even realize it.
-Capitalism isn’t blowing up 400 innocent people when I go and buy a hoodie.
-I buy Adidas because I want to look cool. He blew up the plane cuz he believed he’d get to fuck 40 virgins in the afterlife.
-Right. Fine.
-Simon’s trying to humanize him. I get it. It’s his dad.
-I’d do it, too… it’s all part of the game.
-We’re all victims of our circumstances.
-Of course we’re much better. Of course we are.
-This shit is going viral. Everybody’s talking about Simon’s dad…
11. Down in History
SABINE
Tell it to me, like a story. You’ve chosen first person.
Personal.
Recite it like a monologue. Or… a defense.
Represent your father.
SIMON
This happened many years ago
SABINE
Put down the paper. You’ve internalized it all now…
SIMON
My father planted a bomb
In my mother’s luggage.
From the moment the bomb was found
Security officials knew
That my mother had nothing to do it with.
My mother was innocent.
If the bomb would have gone off in mid-air,
As my father intended, It would have been the most devastating terrorist attack of its time.
My father would have gone down in history
As a mass-murderer.
But he wouldn’t go down as my father
His infamy would stop short of me.
I would have disappeared, Exploding in my mother’s womb…
A whole airplane reduced to debris
Over the Atlantic Ocean.
I wouldn’t be here to tell you this story.
SABINE
Have you told anyone else about this?
SIMON
That I’m making this up? No.
SABINE
Why not?
SIMON
Some parts of it could almost be true
But in a different way.
SABINE
In what way?
SIMON
Stuff about my family.
Stuff I haven’t thought about in a while.
SABINE
Your father planted a bomb on your mother?
SIMON
Sort of.
SABINE
Does your uncle know about this project?
SIMON
He wasn’t raised to be tolerant.
My grandfather was a hard-ass.
SABINE
Your uncle might be more open-minded than you think.
13. This Time of Year
SABINE
I came to apologize for yesterday. It was wrong, For me to embarrass a father in front of his son. Is he here? Your boy?
I’d like to explain something that I said yesterday. May I come in?
TOM Sure.
SABINE
This time of year, I love to drive around, Looking at the season’s decorations. When I pass darkened houses, I wonder:
Is this a Buddhist house in a sea of Christianity? A Jewish family’s bungalow?
Or the home of an elderly couple who won’t risk climbing an old ladder?
I came upon your house, No reindeer, no elves…
But Mary, Joseph, Jesus… Your faith so public. Beautiful.
A very Neopolitan tradition, Your nativity.
Romantic with the ox and donkey
Next to the Magi and their gifts. The herald angels singing, And the star. The star of Bethlehem… It touches me. People often stare.
Wonder why I make such a visible statement of my beliefs.
I come from a place where this is natural. Here, I am a threat.
TOM Does that surprise you?
SABINE Yes.
TOM Like a woman in a bikini wouldn’t threaten you people?
SABINE Us people?
TOM I guess people should just stick to their own kind.
SABINE You believe that? Is that how you were raised?
TOM Yes.
SABINE And you’re fine with that?
TOM I’m fine with that.
SABINE Who is that?
TOM My sister.
SABINE She is a musician?
TOM She was. She died.
SABINE I’m sorry. How did she die.
TOM Excuse me?
SABINE Your sister.
TOM Car accident.
SABINE Was she alone?
TOM No.
The driver died, too. Listen. You wanted to clarify something. About yesterday.
SABINE Yes.
It’s about your son.
TOM He’s my nephew. I’m raising him now.
SABINE I wanted to apologize.
Yesterday I used the word “Jew”. That is not what I meant.
SABINE
You’re laughing at me.
TOM
Your issues with Jews, or Zionists… Whomever you choose to hate… That’s on you, Not me. Not my nephew.
SABINE
That’s how you were raised.
TOM
That’s how I was raised.
The problem is not with the Jews and Christ. It’s with the Zionists.
TOM Ah!
Thank you,
Thank you so much for coming over And making that clear.
14. How I Was Raised 15. My Father
SIMON
What was going on through his head
As he talked my mother into his plan?
Did he brainwash her?
Did he have second thoughts?
Was it difficult for him?
Was he only capable of doing this because he loved her?
My mother was innocent.
And what about me?
Unborn, resting in her belly.
Did he think about me?
The most innocent.
My mother would have had no idea
Of the political situation she was running into.
She would have had no idea
That Bethlehem at that time
Was under Israeli control.
She would have had no idea
Of the violence that marked that region.
Or the history of persecution.
My mother was innocent.
My father…
Wanted justice.
Justice for his rage.
His particular means of noble justice
Meant sacrifice:
My mother and me.
Most people view my father’s actions
As the most horrible, cynical thing imaginable.
How could a man do that to his family?
That’s not what I’ve come to understand.
My father…
Was giving us a gift.
CLASSMATES/VIRAL VIDEO PARTICIPANTS
-Simon, that’s fucked up.
-Wow
-If you want to see it as a gift… you go right ahead brother, but I see that as cowardly.
-He has a point. He does have a point.
-But if he had given you that gift, you wouldn’t be here to reflect on that “gift”
-You don’t think people can die for a cause? You’ve got monks burning themselves alive in Tibet.
-People can die for a cause. Of course they can die for a cause.
-Yeah, but don’t sacrifice other people.
-That’s what’s called a martyr.
-He was doing it because he believed in something.
-But she had no idea what she was dying for.
-He was doing something to better the world.
-Who was on that plane? Probably people like us.
-Why didn’t he get on that plane? He probably wanted the satisfaction of viewing the work he’d done while he was still alive.
-It’s not about concepts and ideologies and who is the martyr.
-Why don’t you all shut up. Just imagine what it would be like to be his mother… pregnant… you think you have this wonderful husband, but it turns out he’s planning to kill you and 400 other people…
16. An Exercise
PRINCIPAL
Mademoiselle Sabine, to the office please.
PRINCIPAL
An exercise
SABINE
In translation
PRINCIPAL
But he’s been reciting it as fact
As his own story.
SABINE
He’s creating a work of theater.
PRINCIPAL
The school’s position is that you pushed him, To take this as far as he could.
SABINE
Adramatic exercise.
PRINCIPAL
Do not bring your cultural biases into the classroom.
SABINE
I didn’t know it would go this far.
That he’d post things on the Internet.
That it would go viral.
This is wrongful dismissal.
PRINCIPAL
You admit to doing everything that the school has accused you of doing.
SABINE
Yes.
16. An Exercise (cont)
PRINCIPAL
There is no other choice.
You have been reckless, Sabine. Why did you choose to read that particular article?
SABINE
It’s a challenging piece to translate.
SABINE
No no no no no…
TOM Parked in front of a fire hydrant.
PRINCIPAL
Mademoiselle Sabine, to the office please.
PRINCIPAL
An exercise…
SABINE
In translation.
PRINCIPAL
But he’s been reciting it as fact. As his own story.
SABINE
He’s creating a work of theater.
PRINCIPAL
The school’s position is that you pushed him, To take this as far as he could.
SABINE
Adramatic exercise.
PRINCIPAL
Do not bring your cultural biases into the classroom.
SABINE
I didn’t know it would go this far. That he’d post things on the Internet. That it would go viral.
This is wrongful dismissal.
PRINCIPAL
You admit to doing everything that the school has accused you of doing.
SABINE
Yes.
PRINCIPAL
There is no other choice.
You have been reckless, Sabine.
Why did you choose to read that particular article?
SABINE
It’s a challenging piece to translate.
SABINE
No no no no no…
TOM
Parked in front of a fire hydrant.
SABINE
I was late this morning.
TOM
Fifty-five dollar release fee.
SABINE
What if I don’t want to pay you.
TOM What?
SABINE
What if I want you to continue doing your job.
TOM
I’d take it to a lot.
SABINE
That’s what I want.
TOM Okay, lady.
SABINE
Can you take it to the lot furthest away?
TOM It’ll cost you.
SABINE I’ll pay.
Have you had lunch? 17. An Offering 18. She
Must Have Trusted You
SABINE
You pack your lunch every day?
TOM I got in the habit of making lunches for my kid.
SABINE
You have a kid?
TOM My sister’s kid.
I’m raising him after she died.
SABINE Is the father around?
TOM No. They died together. An accident.
SABINE
It’s a lot of responsibility raising a child. She must have trusted you. And now you put up Christmas decorations to remember her.
TOM Who are you?
SABINE
Simon’s teacher.
TOM
You’re the one who was fired. Do they know you came into my house And stole my property?
SABINE No.
TOM
Does Simon know about all this?
SABINE Yes. We planned it together. He didn’t think you were very openminded.
I wanted to prove that you were.
TOM
You fucked up, Lady Fucked up in a big way.
You come into my house to provoke me, That’s fucked up.
I welcome you in, And you spout off all of this shit to get a reaction out of me. Fucked up.
Then you come in and comb my Christmas tree, Steal a handmade ornament with my dead sister’s face.
Does that not seem fucked up to you?
Does that not seem fucked up??
Take me out for lunch… fuck.
You’ve gone too far.
Telling him to put that shit on the Internet
About his father being a terrorist.
He didn’t just think of this shit himself. He’s still a kid.
You fucked up lady.
The police… they showed me those clips. That wasn’t Simon. That was somebody else.
Do you know what you did to him?
Do you know what you did to him? Lady.
20. I Was Married to Him
SABINE
I was married to him. For five years. Before he met your sister.
21. This Violin
SAMI Howlonghaveyouhadthisviolin?
RACHEL SinceIwasfourteen. Myfathergaveittome.
SAMI It’sabeautifulgift
Musthaveknownyouwerespecial. Agreatmusician
SABINE It was an exercise.
TOM
Your exercise was fucked.
SABINE
You don’t know me.
TOM Lady.
Now I know who you are. And it’s over.
SABINE Sabine.
Please call me Sabine. You don’t know who I am.
TOM I do.
SABINE
Simon’s parents were killed in a car accident.
We loved each other, Sami and me, Ever since the third grade. We loved each other.
RACHEL Isthatwhatmakesmespecial?
SAMI
Thegoodnews… Isit’sauthentic. Thebadnews… Isthatthiswholepieceoftheviolinisnew.
RACHEL
Butitdoesn’taffectthesound
TOM I told you that.
SABINE
The driver of the truck said they crashed into him on purpose.
He said that Sami drove into the head-on collision.
TOM
How do you know his name?
SABINE
Sami had a condition with his eyes. He wasn’t supposed to drive at night.
TOM How do you know?
I wasn’t able to give him what he wanted. What he needed. He was destined to be a father. Destined to be Simon’s father.
SAMI
No no no… the scroll is purely decorative. The old violins have a shorter neck
And the angle of the fingerboard was different.
When the new style was introduced…
A cut was made here…
This way the scroll could be kept
While the neck was being worked on.
I’ve made some drawings…
ButIwasn’tdestinedtobeamother Notinthatway. Iwasmarriedtohim… Untilhefixedyoursister’sviolin.
SAMI
… of how I can reconstruct… I acquired this in Paris. From the same shop. It would make the scroll identical if attached. In the end… it would be smooth. Feel it
21. This Violin (cont)
TOM It’s very detailed, Your dad’s drawings
SIMON
He liked to plan everything, it seems. You want to convince me to sell it, Don’t you?
22. Our Actions
INTERNET VIDEOS
TOM
I’ve tried to do everything Simon. But the mortgage
You’ll need money for university…
SIMON Can I think about it?
TOM
Yeah, think about it.
SIMON
Tom?
One thing I don’t understand.
Why would my dad put a new scroll on?
It doesn’t really increase the value of the violin…
You could cut it right off…
And it would be just as valuable.
TOM I don’t know.
-I’m thinking of the virgins in heaven. And I’m wondering, is it possible to delay divine reward? That way we can kill people and witness our actions. We can feel the satisfaction I was talking about before
-This idea that if we get to know the victims… humanize them… if we shake hands with the enemy… we won’t pull the trigger, or set off the bomb… it’s just a myth from the movies.
-I have suffered and survived. See this. You see? 46224. They carved that into my arm. Tattooed me like livestock.
-Your father was a hero. I’m a victim too. A victim of propaganda. I have shit written on my body, too. Do you see that? 6 million lies. That’s what I have written on my body.
-If you’d just think of somebody else for five stinking minutes. Nobody does that anymore. (builds to this angry monologue:)
- When I do work, and I don’t very often… I have to travel by plane. And every time it goes like this… from one second to another second. Is the plane going to explode? Is it going to explode? Is it going to explode? Is it going to explode? The next second and the next second… Is it going to explode? Is it going to explode? Is it going to explode? Is it going to explode? I think I am the guy who was blown to smithereens. I’ve come back from the dead to rage against the fucking assholes who believe that killing someone for an idea is something that’s viable. Would CHOOSE because I’m Jewish, or the plane was going to Israel to kill everyone on board. It’s one of the most disgusting despicable things I’ve ever heard I am the guy who came back from the dead -Explode. Explode. Explode.
23. Animals
SAMI
Your father is calling us in for dinner.
RACHEL
Don’t make a scene okay.
SAMI
I’m a guest. I expect to be treated as one.
MORRIS Tom.
Is that what I said to your brother-in-law? Did you hear me say that?
SAMI
You said we are all animals. That’s exactly what you said.
MORRIS
I said the ones who took over the plane, The ones who crashed into the two towers. Animals. Absolutely.
SAMI You said all of us.
MORRIS Is that what I just said?
SAMI Yes
MORRIS I’m asking you a question, Tom.
SAMI Yes.
MORRIS
I’m asking you a question, Tom. Is that what I said?
TOM I don’t know. I don’t know, dad.
MORRIS
You don’t know?
You’re sitting across the table. You deaf, son?
I’ll tell you why I wouldn’t say something like that.
Why I couldn’t have said something like that.
Contrary to what you may think, Sami… I’m a civilized man.
SAMI
You always change the story. You’re a snaky man.
23. Animals (cont)
MORRIS
Is he calling me sneaky, Rachel?
Is your husband calling me names?
Your husband wants to know what is wrong
With you bringing my grandson up in his culture. What’s wrong is…
His culture has brought nothing but hatred and violence.
SAMI
What about the crusades?
Sending children off to fight.
MORRIS
Oh yes yes yes.
We’ve got an educated man at the table.
What do you think of this educated man, Tom? Does he impress you?
My son doesn’t answer because he agrees with me. He doesn’t want to seem impolite.
That’s not how he was raised
MORRIS
Don’t get all pissy, Rachel We’re just having civilized conversation here…
TOM Simon… I’m gonna take you to bed, okay?
MORRIS
…well we were.
Before Sami decided to get all heated, Hot-blooded Impassioned…
Rude.
SIMON Grandpa,
I need to know what really happened that night.
It’s not acceptable in my house. Where are you going, Tom?
I shouldn’t have to defend my position at my own table. That might have been how you were brought up.
SAMI
You are the one being rude, Morris. Your bigotry is childish, full of stereotypes that are tired. Very, very tired. You make Rachel miserable here. That is why we come so seldomly. She becomes sullen, a shadow. If you can’t control your violent temper we are not going to be able to justify coming here, Morris… this is not fair to anyone, let alone Simon. Hearing his grandfather speak so intolerantly…
RACHEL
They will kill each other.
Can you not talk to dad?
TOM
What would I say?
RACHEL
Tell him to stop…
To shut the hell up.
TOM
But I want him to explode.
I want Sami to piss him off so much
That he explodes.
Flecks of his skin, Bits of hair, Bone chips
Blood-coated walls, His last tear dripping from the ceiling
RACHEL
What if I burst, Tom?
MORRIS
He had such rage in his eyes.
He raised his voice to fight, Simon!
And they don’t fight fairly, men like your dad. They make weapons out of airplanes…
They are happy to blow themselves up.
I’ve imagined it so many times.
Not dad’s explosion.
But my own.
Can you do it for me?
Guess it’s my job…
To force some distance between those two
I’ll take Sami for a drive. Let him catch his breath.
TOM You’ve been drinking.
RACHEL
It’s the only way I know to survive. Or else I’ll…
TOM Sami should drive.
RACHEL
I’m ready to burst.
You are lucky, Simon, To be your mother’s son, And to let the memories of him, The pathetic criminal, be scrubbed from your mind.
You have to believe me, Simon. Your father was a killer.
SIMON
My father was innocent.
26. Flames and Frames
27. I Never Let Him Go
SIMON
Why didn’t you tell me about this before?
SABINE
I didn’t think it was appropriate.
SIMON
He looked happy.
SABINE
He was. We were happy.
He was my salvation.
I am loss. I have lost. My entire family Wiped out in Lebanon. I was at school. Orphaned in a flash. He was my salvation.
When you first walked into my classroom, I saw him.
Your features practically identical: Your father’s son. I needed to be part of your life. I need to be part…
SIMON You let him go?
SABINE I never let him go.
Adoration was commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Trinity Church Wall Street, with lead commissioners Justus Schlichting and Charlotte Isaacs. Additional commissioning support provided by Susan Bienkowski. Developed by Beth Morrison Projects in association with the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Opera Department. Adoration was workshopped at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity as part of the 2023 Opera in the 21st Century Program. Produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Trinity Church Wall Street. Additional support is provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, and Visionary Women. This project was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Supported, in part, by an OPERA America Opera Grants for Female Composers award, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The production of Adoration received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Fund.
The album of Adoration is generously supported by NY Community Trust, The ASCAP Foundation, Sofiya Khachatryan, Christina Barba, Araxie Altounian, Emily Mkrtichian, Joseph Bergen, Dameun Strange, Levon Tatevossian, and our wonderful anonymous donors.
