The Bonesetter's Daughter traces a Chinese-American woman's search for her own voice and identity as she grapples with her elderly mother's apparent dementia, her husband's ambivalent commitment, and her teen stepdaughters' hurtful self-absorption. Guided by a ghost of uncertain identity, she travels into the past and lives out portions of her mother's tragic youth, gaining insight, forgiveness, and strength.
The opera is set both in 1997 San Francisco, and in China and Hong Kong around the outbreak of World War II.
Shifting times and locales are linked by a recurring trio of women: American-born Ruth, a professional ghostwriter who scarcely speaks up for herself; her mother, LuLing, who appears both as a querulous old woman and as a selfish adolescent; and LuLing's childhood caretaker known as Precious Auntie, who appears both as a ghost and as the fiery young mother she once was.
Scenes
Prologue — Dragon Dance – A timeless void
Act 1, scene 1 – Fountain Court Restaurant, San Francisco, 1997
Act 1, scene 2 – Immortal Heart, a village outside Beijing, 1930s
Act 2, scene 1 – Hong Kong Harbor, 1940s
Act 2, scene 2 – A hospital room, San Francisco, 1997
The score folds authentic Chinese musical expression into an essentially Western idiom, just as the libretto incorporates Chinese themes—such as the importance of family, and the power of ghosts and lucky charms—within an American framework. That framework includes many popular references, including a wry jab at "Medicare-approved" nursing homes and reference to Ruth's profession as a ghostwriter, which her immigrant mother misconstrues literally to mean a transcriptionist for ghosts. Notably, the infamous O. J. Simpson murder trial of 1995 becomes the vehicle by which elderly LuLing remembers and narrates traumatic events from her adolescence in China, which are revealed as the crux of her conflicts with her daughter.
References
"Cast and synopsis". San Francisco Opera. 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
Kosman, Joshua (15 September 2008). "Opera review: 'Bonesetter's Daughter'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 16 September 2008. (review )
Tommasini, Anthony (15 September 2008). "3 Generations of Chinese Women Find Voice in Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2008. (review )
bonesetter, daughter, opera, bonesetter, daughter, opera, prologue, acts, stewart, wallace, libretto, based, novel, same, name, premiered, september, 2008, memorial, opera, house, francisco, opera, which, commissioned, work, contents, roles, plot, scenes, anal. The Bonesetter s Daughter is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Stewart Wallace to a libretto by Amy Tan based on her novel of the same name It premiered on 13 September 2008 at the War Memorial Opera House of San Francisco Opera which commissioned the work Contents 1 Roles 2 Plot 2 1 Scenes 3 Analysis 4 ReferencesRoles EditRole Voice type Premiere cast 13 September 2008Conductor Steven SloaneRuth Young KamenLuLing as a young woman mezzo soprano Zheng CaoLuLing Liu Young mezzo soprano Ning LiangPrecious Auntie Kunju mezzo Qian YiChang the Coffin Maker bass Hao Jiang TianTaoist PriestChef Chinese folk pop tenor Wu TongArt Kamen baritone James MaddalenaArlene Kamen mezzo soprano Catherine CookMarty Kamen bass baritone Valery PortnovDory Kamen girl soprano Madelaine MatejFia Kamen girl soprano Rose FrazierChang s first wife soprano Mary FinchChang s second wife mezzo soprano Natasha Ramirez LelandChang s third wife mezzo soprano Erin NeffAcrobats Dalian Acrobatic TroupeSuona Wu Tong Zuo JichengChinese percussionists Li Zhonghua Ma Li Nie Haijun Jin LiangDirector Chen Shi ZhengSet designer Walt SpanglerCostume designer Han FengLighting designer Scott ZielinskiVideo designer Leigh HaasSound designer Mark GreyChoreographer Wang YuqingAerial choreographer Ruthy InchausteguiApproximate running time 2 hours 40 minutes including one intermissionPlot Edit Book cover of Amy Tan s novel The Bonesetter s Daughter traces a Chinese American woman s search for her own voice and identity as she grapples with her elderly mother s apparent dementia her husband s ambivalent commitment and her teen stepdaughters hurtful self absorption Guided by a ghost of uncertain identity she travels into the past and lives out portions of her mother s tragic youth gaining insight forgiveness and strength The opera is set both in 1997 San Francisco and in China and Hong Kong around the outbreak of World War II Shifting times and locales are linked by a recurring trio of women American born Ruth a professional ghostwriter who scarcely speaks up for herself her mother LuLing who appears both as a querulous old woman and as a selfish adolescent and LuLing s childhood caretaker known as Precious Auntie who appears both as a ghost and as the fiery young mother she once was Scenes Edit Prologue Dragon Dance A timeless void Act 1 scene 1 Fountain Court Restaurant San Francisco 1997 Act 1 scene 2 Immortal Heart a village outside Beijing 1930s Act 2 scene 1 Hong Kong Harbor 1940s Act 2 scene 2 A hospital room San Francisco 1997For further details see The Bonesetter s Daughter Analysis EditThe score folds authentic Chinese musical expression into an essentially Western idiom just as the libretto incorporates Chinese themes such as the importance of family and the power of ghosts and lucky charms within an American framework That framework includes many popular references including a wry jab at Medicare approved nursing homes and reference to Ruth s profession as a ghostwriter which her immigrant mother misconstrues literally to mean a transcriptionist for ghosts Notably the infamous O J Simpson murder trial of 1995 becomes the vehicle by which elderly LuLing remembers and narrates traumatic events from her adolescence in China which are revealed as the crux of her conflicts with her daughter References Edit Cast and synopsis San Francisco Opera 2008 Retrieved 16 September 2008 Kosman Joshua 15 September 2008 Opera review Bonesetter s Daughter San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved 16 September 2008 review Tommasini Anthony 15 September 2008 3 Generations of Chinese Women Find Voice in Opera The New York Times Retrieved 16 September 2008 review Stewart Wallace The Bonesetter s Daughter Portal Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Bonesetter 27s Daughter opera amp oldid 982983672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
