Two Sundays ago, the West Edge Opera troupe crossed the Bay into San Francisco for Snapshot, their annual showcase of operas in progress. Two scenes from
Port City, composed by
Byron Au Yong to a libretto by Christopher Chen, were delightful and surprising. The eponynmous city is San Francisco, layered in time, and Au Yong's score was playful and inventive. His musical filigrees on the words "algorithm" and "neuroses" made those tricky syllables comprehensible and funny. Even more refreshing, a scene involving two nerdy programmers and their avatars falling in love was the first sweet, non-dystopian depiction of the future I've seen in contemporary culture in ages.
In the photo above, Byron Au Yong is receiving the audience's applause along with Mary Chun who was sharing chamber orchestra conducting duties with West Edge Music Director Jonathan Khuner.
Chun was also the conductor of my other favorite opera excerpt from
When Purple Mountains Burn, composed by
Shuying Li. The libretto is by Julian Crouch, a noted theatrical designer whose incredible production design of SF Ballet's
Cinderella is currently playing at the SF Opera House this week. This is his first attempt at a libretto, which depicts The Rape of Nanking in World War Two through the eyes of historian Iris Chang, who wrote about its horrors before committing suicide, and Shiro Azuma, a Japanese soldier who confessed to those war crimes. Instead of being polite and taking on a eulogistic tone, the piece recounts what happened in vivid, almost silent movie music illustration and plain, descriptive prose that is truly chilling for its lack of layered-on emotion. (Pictured above are singers Winnie Nieh, Krista Wigle, Joachim Luis and Andrew J. Fellows.)
The singers for all five opera excerpts were in fine form, but Winnie Nieh (above left) was spectacular as Iris Chang.
The real star of Sunday afternoon's performance was Earplay, rhe chamber orchestra led by Mary Chun. They were Stacey Pelinka, flute; Peter Josheff, clarinet; Terri Baune, violin; Ellen Ruth Rose, viola; Leighton Fong, cello; Michel Taddei, bass; and the incomparable Keisuke Nakagoshi, piano, pictured above.
After the performance, I approached Byron Au Yong as he was talking to retired ACT Artistic Director Carey Perloff to tell him how much I enjoyed the
Port City opera. "How much is finished?" I asked, and he said about 15 minutes, and all I could think of to say in return was, "Well, get to work."
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