An American Dream was commissioned by Seattle Opera. Set in the Puget Sound during World War II, it tells the story of two families -Makoto, Hiroko and Setsuko Kobayashi, Japanese Americans incarcerated after Executive Order 9066, and Jim and Eva Crowley, a U.S. serviceman and a German Jewish refugee. Since its premiere in 2015, An American Dream has seen twelve productions. The opera continues in 2024 with productions in Tokyo and New York.
An American Dream
composed by Jack Perla libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo comissioned by Seattle Opera
“Our American Dream”
An American Dream began with the stories of two women - Mary Matsuda Gruenwald and Marianne Weltmann. Both women lived in the Puget Sound area of Washington, and both experienced wartime exile. Marianne Weltman, who became Eva in our opera, fled her home town of Stettin, Germany, relocating to the United States. She became an opera singer and music teacher. Mary Matsuda Gruenwald (whose story is told through the eyes of Setsuko) was an exile in her own country. She was forcibly removed from Bainbridge Island, where her family farmed strawberries, to the federal incarceration camp at Tule Lake, CA.
Following its premiere in Seattle, An American Dream traveled to cities around the United States. As it did, the piece took on a dimension beyond the stage. After each performance, audience members, and sometimes artists involved in the production, shared personal stories related to the opera. After the Seattle, Chicago, Anchorage and Hawaii productions we met women and men who’d been incarcerated, as well as their children and grandchildren. Jewish and Asian audience-members and performers noted the parallel between the opera’s story and the rise in Anti-Semitism and Anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. from 2016 to the present.
An American Dream became a living work - adjusting and reacting to each community that embraced it. In Seattle, Norm Mineta talked with us about Heart Mountain. In Hawaii an elderly gentleman explained the importance of the formal apology issued by the U.S. government during the Obama administration. In Indiana and Hawaii, Asian performers shared how the roles of Setsuko, Makoto and Hiroko Kobayashi offered visibility into these forgotten stories of Asian Americans, stories too frequently lacking in traditional opera.
Nina Yoshida Nelsen’s performance of the role of Hiroko for the Seattle premiere prompted her grandmother to speak openly about her own incarceration experience – something she had never done. Our librettist Jessica Murphy Moo transcribed their conversation and it became a new scene and aria. We also responded to feedback from Jewish performers and audience members, who requested we adjust important details in order to better honor their ancestors’ experience.
At the end of An American Dream, though fate has set them in opposition, Setsuko and Eva become friends. This message – that the concept of “The American Dream” should be based on empathy and kindness, rather than fear or exclusion – was clarified through the stories and personal accounts we artists were so fortunate to experience.
Awareness of An American Dream is growing - premieres are scheduled in Tokyo and New York this fall. Recording this opera at the highest level of artistic excellence will ensure that it reaches new audiences for years to come. We hope you’ll consider supporting our endeavor - we’d be delighted to share our progress with you along the way!
Synopsis
March 1942, A Puget Sound Island
An Irish American veteran, Jim Crowley, and his wife, Eva, a German Jewish refugee, have come to buy a farmhouse. Eva desperately wants her parents to leave Germany, where their lives are in danger. Jim makes promises and asks her to walk the land while he makes his offer.
Inside the home, a Japanese American family has heard that the FBI is arresting people of Japanese descent. They burn their precious heirlooms and belongings to avoid any appearance of allegiance to Japan. The FBI arrives and tells the father Makoto that they found some old dynamite in the shed and he is under arrest. Under pressure, Makoto sells the house to Jim for a fraction of its worth. Makoto and his teenage daughter, Setsuko, promise to meet back at the house after the war.
Two Months Later
As Setsuko and her mother Hiroko are leaving the house to report to a detention center, the postman delivers a letter. It is from Germany for a woman named Eva. Angry that she is being forced to leave her home, Setsuko steals the letter.
A Few Weeks Later
Jim and Eva move into their new home designating a room for Eva’s parents. Eva finds a Hina Matsuri doll hidden beneath a floorboard, and asks Jim about the previous owners. Jim tells her that they were “Japs,” and to throw away the doll. In spite of Jim’s wishes, Eva decides to keep the doll and return it to its owner after the war.
May 1945
Jim and Eva hear on the radio of Germany’s surrender. Eva, who has located the Kobayashi family, writes to Setsuko about the doll.
Later
That Month
While still incarcerated, Setsuko receives Eva’s letter. She tells her gravely ill mother that it is from her father, telling them that the war is nearly over.
August 1945, Pudget Sound Island
Jim intercepts a letter from Setsuko to Eva. President Truman announces the dropping of the atomic bomb.
A Few Weeks Later
Jim and Eva move into their new home designating a room for Eva’s parents. Eva finds a Hina Matsuri doll hidden beneath a floorboard, and asks Jim about the previous owners. Jim tells her that they were “Japs,” and to throw away the doll. In spite of Jim’s wishes, Eva decides to keep the doll and return it to its owner after the war.
September 1945
Setsuko arrives at the home and confronts Jim. When Eva gives Setsuko the doll back, Setsuko gives Eva the old unopened letter from Germany. Eva collapses when she reads the news of her parents’ fate, and Setsuko finishes reading the letter to Eva, as they face an uncertain future.
Jack Perla Composer
Jack composes and plays jazz, opera, symphonic and chamber music, and things in the spaces between those grooves. He earned a DMA at the Yale School of Music, has been commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Seattle Opera, and has received awards from the Thelonious Monk Institute, American Composers Forum, New Music USA, and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition.
Jack’s operas include Shalimar & Boonyi, libretto by Rajiv Joseph, (Opera Theater of St. Louis, 2016), Jonah & the Whale, libretto by Velina HasuHouston (Los Angeles Opera, 2014), Love/Hate, libretto by Rob Bailis (ODC Theatre & The San Francisco Opera Center, 2012), Courtside, libretto by Eugenie Chan and River of Light, libretto by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Houston Grand Opera, 2010, 2011).
Jessica Murphy Moo Librettist
Jessica Murphy Moo is the editor of Portland magazine, the publication of the University of Portland. Previously, she was an instructor of nonfiction writing for the University of Washington’s professional and continuing education program and has held a range of editorial positions, including communications editor at Seattle Opera, staff editor at The Atlantic, and fiction editor at Memorious, an online literary magazine. Her fiction has appeared in The Atlantic, Image, and Memorious. Her nonfiction has appeared in Portland, Poets & Writers Magazine, ParentMap, Portland Monthly, and theatlantic.com, among other publications. Murphy Moo is also a librettist. She wrote the words for two operas—An American Dream and Earth to Kenzie—which have been produced at Seattle Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, among other companies.
Casey Robards Music Director/Conductor
Pianist and conductor, CASEY ROBARDS has given recitals with singers and instrumentalists throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America and Asia. Her repertoire includes art song, opera, musical theatre, spirituals and gospel, string, brass, wind and chamber music. Her Carnegie Hall debut recital was with baritone Christiaan Smith performing an original program of Top 40 pop songs sung in the style of art song.
Recent projects include conducting Three Decembers (South Bend Lyric Opera), Die Zauberfl*te, La Boheme, La Traviata (Bay View Music Festival), music directing Water Riot: A Cyberpunk Rock Opera created by Derek McPhatter in Chicago; conducting participant in Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre; and as pianist, performing concerts with the National Chorale and American Spiritual Ensemble.
Sergei Kvitko
Producer/Recording Engineer
Sergei Kvitko’s career is as diverse as it is successful. As a pianist, Mr. Kvitko has captured the attention of music critics with his “polished pianism… glorious Horowitzian threedimensional perspective” (Gramophone Magazine), “masterful, intuitive playing… arresting artistry… an iconoclastic sense for rubato rhythm and phrasing” (Fanfare Magazine).
What makes Kvitko’s career truly unique, is that his artistic accomplishments are balanced by his reputation as an internationally sought-after classical recording engineer and producer of the highest caliber, declared by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the best in the business,” and dubbed a “recording wizard” by New York Concert Review. Gramophone Magazine stated that “as engineer, he makes magic,” while American Record Guide praised his work as a ”consistent stream of exceptionally enjoyable recordings.” He is a Latin Grammy-nominated producer in Best Classical Album category. His recording of Carter Pann’s piece Mechanics was a finalist for Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Helen Zhibing Huang
Setsuko Kobayashi
Chinese-born soprano Helen Zhibing Huang brings her “immaculate coloratura chops and nuanced acting” (Boston Globe) to a wide range of repertoire, spanning from Baroque to the present day. In the 2022-2023 season, Helen will make many exciting role and house debuts, including her debuts as Monica in Menotti’s The Medium at Nashville Opera, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at Annapolis Opera, Zerlina in Don Giovanni at North Carolina Opera, as well as Handel’s Messiah with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she will reprise the role of Singa Loh in I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams with Resonance Works Pittsburgh and participate in workshop of Derrick Wang’s new opera Fearless with Opera Delaware.
Alice Chung Mama (Hiroko Kobayashi)
American mezzo-soprano ALICE CHUNG is recognized for her “operatic tonal glamour” (Parterre). This season, Ms. Chung will be making her company debut with Boston Lyric Opera and Houston Grand Opera. At Houston, she will be singing the roles of Ox/Pig in Meilina Tsui’s world premiere The Big Swim. She will also be returning to Hawaii Opera Theatre for a traveling production of Jack Perla’s An American Dream.
As a 2017 and 2019 alumnus of the prestigious Merola Opera Program, Ms. Chung has garnered acclaim with the San Francisco audience through her excerpted portrayals of Azucena (Il trovatore), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), and Gertrude (Hamlet). Since then, Ms. Chung has returned to San Francisco, presenting her Schwabacher Debut Recital and Shoshana Foundation recital, and covering at San Francisco Opera. She will be back in San Francisco this December for a Liederabend with Lieder Alive!
Lydia Grindatto
Eva Crowley
Praised for her “Lorengar-like shimmer” and “high-octane emotionalism” (Parterre) Lydia Grindatto is a current Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts, where she recently appeared in the roles of Anna in Anna Bolena, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Violetta in La traviata and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin. This upcoming season, Lydia will make her house debuts with Arizona Opera and Columbus Opera in the roles of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin.
Originally from New Mexico, Lydia holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of New Mexico, where she began her musical training and performed several seasons with Opera Southwest, including Violetta (cover) in La traviata and Erste Edelknabe in Wagner’s Lohengrin.
Morgan Smith
Jim Crowley
American baritone Morgan Smith is one of the most prolific performers of modern operatic repertoire in the world. Known for his riveting dramatic portrayals and the power and beauty of his voice, Mr. Smith has been entrusted to create 16 roles in world premieres, including Starbuck in Jake Heggie’s widely celebrated Moby-Dick.
Mr. Smith has also earned universal praise for performances in traditional repertoire, notably Scarpia (Tosca), Escamillo (Carmen), title role of Don Giovanni, Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Count Alamaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Four Villains (Les contes d’Hoffmann), and the title role of Eugene Onegin.
Adam Lau Papa (Makoto Kobayashi)
American bass Adam Lau, praised as “a bass whose singing resonates in every sense of the word”, continues a busy and varied career in opera and concert with a wide range of engagements in the 2023-24 season.
He began the summer of 2023 in concerts with the Metropolitan Opera, both at Carnegie Hall and on the company’s European tour, conducted by the Met’s Music Director, Yannick Nezet-Seguin. He next appeared as Sarastro in The Magic Flute at The Ravinia Festival, led by Marin Alsop. In Autumn 2023, Mr. Lau rejoined San Francisco Opera, where he covered the role of Kobun in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and sang a Noble in Lohengrin. Early 2024 finds him making his debut with The Atlanta Symphony, singing Bruckner’s Te Deum. Next, he returns to Utah Opera to sing a favorite part, the title role in The Marriage of Figaro. More Mozart follows as he joins Arizona Opera as The Commendatore in Don Giovanni.
Yuki Izumihara Art Director
Yuki Izumihara is a scenic, projection, and production designer born in Shimonoseki City, Japan and based in Oakland, CA. Ms. Izumihara’s work is influenced by years of martial arts training and is animated by a belief in discipline, ethics and craftsmanship.
As an artist, graphic designer, and animator with an emphasis on spatial composition and color narrative, Yuki aims to clarify, establish and amplify project identities through visual language, including company/season branding and pitching of various new projects in developmental stages. Her work has been seen at LA Opera, New World Symphony, SF Symphony, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, San Diego Opera, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Opera Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, ODC Dance, and theaters acoss the conuntry.
Wear Yellow Proudly Collaborating Partner
Wear Yellow Proudly is an Aural Compass Projects initiative that was created as a response to the increasing amount of xenophobia towards Asians across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic by Alice Chung, Helen Huang, and Michael Lewis. WYP aims to bring awareness to Asian culture by showcasing curated performances of music and poetry, hosting panel discussions, and celebrating the skills of Asian artists. The initiative hopes to strengthen the ties within the global community during the pandemic and beyond.
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Recording Venue
The Krannert is legendary for its acoustics and sought out by classical artists as an ideal place to record. It’s a rare opportunity to record there - outside slots are spoken for years in advance. The largest performance hall in Krannert Center, the Foellinger Great Hall seats up to 2,059 audience members. Architect Max Abramovitz and acoustician Cyril Harris designed the hall to create a perfect collaboration of sound, and every detail lends to the marvelous acoustics—from the shape of the ceiling, to the hand-selected Indiana butternut wood that forms the walls.