The Emissary
Composer Kenji Oh | Librettist Kelley Rourke
Based on the novel by Yoko Tawada. English translation by Margaret Mitsutani
Dates:
Friday, October 27, 2023 7 PM
Saturday, October 28, 2023 1 PM & 4 PM
Ticket Prices: $10 Pay What You Can; $25 General; $50 Pay It Forward; free admission for ages 21 and under
Venue: ODC Theater, San Francisco | Get Directions
In this new family opera spanning generations, journey through a future where hope and resilience shine in a world on the brink. Opera Parallèle has commissioned composer Kenji Oh and librettist Kelley Rourke to create this brand new adaptation of The Emissary, based on the award-winning novel by celebrated Japanese author Yoko Tawada, as part of the seventh iteration of Hands-On-Opera. Directed by Yayoi Kambara and starring Angela Yam and Bradley Kynard, and featuring the Lick Wilmerding High School Chorus, bring the whole family to this world premiere!
Sung in English with supertitles. Runtime: 50 minutes, no intermission
Since 2013, Opera Parallèle’s Hands-On-Opera program has created opportunities for students of all ages to have a complete operatic experience. This program gives non-professional singers the opportunity to participate in producing and performing in a fully-produced opera. The program also provides opportunities for emerging composers, librettists and creatives through the commission of new works, specifically for young performer participants and multi-generational audiences.
After suffering from a massive irreparable disaster, Japan cuts itself off from the world, in what could be viewed as a post-Fukushima time. Children are so weak they can barely stand or walk: the only people with any motivation are the elderly. Mumei lives with his grandfather Yoshiro, who worries about him constantly.
They carry on a day-to-day routine, with all children born ancient—frail and gray-haired, yet incredibly compassionate and wise. Mumei may be enfeebled and feverish, but he is a beacon of hope, full of wit and free of self-pity and pessimism. Yoshiro concentrates on nourishing Mumei, a strangely wonderful boy who offers “the beauty of the time that is yet to come.”
Sung in English with supertitles. Runtime: 50 minutes, no intermission
Cast & Creativesfor The Emissary
Cast
Angela Yam*
Mumei
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Hometown: Sacremento, CA, USA
Recent Engagements:
- Sweeney Todd, Stephen Sondheim (Chautauqua Opera)
- Iphigénie en Tauride, Gluck (Boston Baroque)
- The Night Falls, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Karen Russell (BalletCollective)
Upcoming Engagements:
- La Cenerentola, Rossini (Boston Lyric Opera)
- Eurydice, Matthew Aucoin, Sarah Ruhl (Boston Lyric Opera)
Photo credit Tira Howard
Bradley Kynard
Yoshiro
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Hometown: San Francisco, CA, USA
Recent Engagements:
- Prospero's Island, Shearer, Stevens (Ninth Planet)
- The Difference, Patzner, Patzner (Rific Records)
Upcoming Engagements:
- Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet, BWV 212, Bach, (Rific Records)
- A Little Girl Dreams of Taking the Veil, Wold, (Wold Fabrications)
Photo credit Will Manuel
Composer & Librettist
Kenji Oh*
Composer
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Hometown: Kobe, Japan
Upcoming Engagements:
- Shizue: An American Story, Kenji Oh, Dmae Lo Roberts (Portland Opera)
Photo credit S. Heo
Kelley Rourke*
Librettist
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Hometown: Brooklyn/Rosebloom, NY, USA
Recent Engagements:
- The Beekeeper, Wang Lu/Kelley Rourke (Chicago Opera Theater)
- The Jungle Book, Kamala Sankaram/Kelley Rourke (The Glimmerglass Festival)
- Odyssey: A Journey Through Worlds (Laura Karpman/Kelley Rourke), Linzer Klangwolke 2023
Upcoming Engagements:
- Hansel and Gretel, Engelbert Humperdinck, new English adaptation by Kelley Rourke (Royal Opera House Covent Garden)
- Right Now, John Glover/Kelley Rourke (American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall)
- Artistic Advisor, American Opera Initiative, Washington National Opera (ongoing)
Photo credit Brittany Lesavoy
Artistic + Production
Nicole Paiement
Conductor*
*Conducting 10/27 & 10/28 4PM Performances
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Hometown: Montreal, Québec, Canada
Recent engagements:
- Everest, Joby Talbot, Gene Scheer (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
- The Shining, Paul Moravec, Mark Campbell (Opera Parallèle)
- Ainadamar, Osvaldo Golijov, David Henry Hwang (l'Opéra de Montréal)
Upcoming engagements:
- Birds and Balls, David T. Little and Royce Vavrek, Laura Karpman and Gail Collins (Opera Parallèle)
- Roméo et Juliette, Charles Gounod, Jules Barbier & Michel Carré (Dallas Opera)
- The Gospel According to the Other Mary, John Adams, Peter Sellars (Volksoper Vienna)
Photo credit Cory Weaver
Yayoi Kambara
Director
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Hometown: San Francisco, CA, USA
Recent engagements:
- The Little Prince, Rachel Portman, Nicholas Wright (Opera Parallèle)
- Today It Rains, Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed (Opera Parallèle)
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Gordon Getty (operatic film)
Upcoming engagements:
The Emissary, Kenji Oh, Kelley Rourke (Opera Parallèle)
Photo credit Deeksha Prakash
Jaco Wong
Associate Conductor*
*Conducting 10/28 1PM Performance
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Hometown: Hong Kong
Recent engagements:
- Orchestre symphonique de Québec at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, conductor
- The Harker School Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, conductor
- Mercury Soul, a DJ/ classical music event, conductor
Upcoming engagements:
- Carmen, Georges Bizet, Festival Opera, assistant conductor
- By Ear: A Journey into Musical Perception, New World Symphony, composer
- American Kaleidoscope: Rhapsody in Blue @100, director of Great Wall Youth Chinese Orchestra
Photo credit Michael Stahlberg
Tony Asaro*
Chorus Director - Lick Wilmerding High School Chorus
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Hometown: San Bruno, CA, USA
Recent engagements:
- All Wounds Bleed, Christopher Cerrone, Tony Asaro, (Tulsa Opera, Brooklyn Opera Works, Chicago Fringe Opera, and University of Michigan)
- The Halloween Tree, Theo Popov, Tony Asaro (American Lyric Theatre)
- The Boatman, Alon Nechushtan, Tony Asaro, (Con Vivo Music)
Upcoming engagements:
- Zheng, Shinji Eshima, Tony Asaro, (Opera San Jose)
Photo credit Brandon Roberts, Better Rugged Photography
Matthew Linzer*
Scenic and Costume Designer
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Spense Matubang*
Lighting Designer
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Hometown: Oakland, CA, USA
Recent engagements:
- Edit Annie, Leigh Rondon-Davis and Nailah Harper-Maveaux (Crowded Fire)
- Baskerville, Leslie Martinson (Hillbarn Theatre)
- Kinky Boots, Lisa Mallette (City Lights Theater Company)
Upcoming engagements:
- Pretty Women, May Liang (ACT Youth Conservatory)
- Dragon Lady, Andrew Russell (Marin Theatre Company)
- Nora: A Doll's House, Kirsten Brandt (City Lights Theater Company)
Photo credit Ash Brown
Musicians
Jessie Nucho
Flute (Piccolo)
Keisuke Nakagoshi
Pianist
Leslie Tagorda
Clarinet (Bass Clarinet)
Bronwyn James
Violin
Carlos Alvarez*
Percussion
Constantine Janello*
Cello
*Making Opera Parallèle debut this season.
Supporters
Support for The Emissary is provided in part by The Sam Mazza Foundation, The Shenson Foundation, Akiko Yamazaki & Jerry Yang, OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors & Conductors supported by the Marineau Family Foundation, UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, and the George and Sakaye Aratani CARE Award, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation.
THE EMISSARY, by Yoko Tawada, translated by Margaret Mitsutani, copyright ©2014 by Yoko Tawada, translation copyright © 2018 by Margaret Mitsutani. This production is authorized by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.