Moby Duck
A New Opera in One Act
Music: Jack Perla
Libretto: Mark Campbell
Production Design: Yuki Izumihara
Discription:
Moby Duck, a chamber opera inspired by Donovan Hohn’s book, starts with a single event: on January 10, 1992, a container ship lost 28,800 plastic ducks and other toys to the Pacific Ocean, sending them on a journey that would take them to beaches across the globe.
Each duck’s journey leads to a human story – a young woman in China who works in a factory that makes the ducks, the captain of the boat that loses them in the storm, a couple in Alaska who finds one on the beach but decides to throw it back in the surf, an oceanographer who finds one on the beach in Scotland and uses one to gain information about currents, and finally, a teenager on vacation in Hawaii who takes one home. Through humor, empathy, and ducks, Moby Duck brings these six characters together in a global narrative that illuminates our interconnectedness and shared responsibility—environmentally and ethically— and how individual actions can accumulate into a powerful current.
Jack Perla (Composer). Composer and pianist
Jack Perla is active in opera, jazz, chamber and orchestra music. His music is widely performed, and he has played in the U.S., Europe, India and Japan. Beginning over twenty five years ago in New York with his group Music Without Walls, and continuing after moving to San Francisco, Jack has steadily forged a reputation for his unique cross-fertilization of jazz, improvisation and classical music. He’s been commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, The Paul Dresher Ensemble, TwoSense, MATA, and many other performers and organizations. www.jackperla.com
Cast: Two men, four women
Orchestration:
Ver 1: 5 instruments
Ver 2: chamber orchestra
Duration: 85 minutes
Mark Campbell (Librettist). The Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning works of librettist/ lyricist Mark Campbell are among the most successful in the contemporary opera canon. Mark has written 41 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals and text for 9 song cycles and 5 oratorios. His works include Silent Night, The Shining, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, As One, Elizabeth Cree, Sanctuary Road, and A Nation of Others. In 2020, he created and funded the first award for opera librettists in the history of the art form: the annual Campbell Opera Librettist Prize; and in 2022 co-created the True Voice Award to help transgender singers. He recently recieved the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Opera Association. www.markcampbellwords.com
Yuki Izumihara (Production Designer). Born in Shimonoseki City Japan, award winning scenic, projection, and production designer Yuki Izumihara’s work is influenced by years of martial arts training and is animated by a belief in discipline, ethics and craftsmanship. She also serves as an art director, concept designer, and visual artist to establish, clarify, and amplify project identities through visual language. Her work has been featured at LA Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, San Diego Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, New World Symphony, SF Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, LA Chamber Orchestra, Sun Valley Music Festival, ODC Dance, the Hammer Museum, Getty Villa Museum, Cardi B’s Art Basel, and various theaters across the country. www.yukiizumihara.com