Opera
The novel was made into an opera that premiered at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House and was performed by the San Francisco Opera on September 13, 2008. The opera was composed by Stewart Wallace, and the libretto penned by Amy Tan. The opera condenses the novel's plot through various devices: it omits peripheral characters and the subplot about the Christian orphanage and expands Chang the Coffin Maker into the key villain. He rapes Precious Auntie after killing her father, the Bonesetter, and unknowingly fathers Lu Ling. The score folds traditional Chinese brass and percussion into a Western orchestra, with Chinese classical musicians led by Wu Tong and Li Zhonghua performing at the premiere. The suona, a raucous reed horn, features in the orchestration and is played onstage several times. The character of Precious Auntie sings and moves in the kunju style of Chinese Opera and was created and enacted by kunju star Qian Yi at the premiere. The other members of the premiere cast included mezzo-soprano Zheng Cao singing the dual roles of Ruth and the youthful Liu Ling, mezzo-soprano Ning Liang as Old Lu Ling, bass Hao Jiang Tian as Chang, folk/pop vocalist and suona player Wu Tong as the Taoist priest, baritone James Maddalena as Ruth's husband, Art Kamen, mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook as Art's mother Arlene Kamen and as Madame Wang in the flashback to Immortal Heart village, bass-baritone Valery Portnov as Art's father, Marty Kamen, with 14-year-old Madelaine Matej and 17-year-old Rose Frazier, respectively, playing Art's teen daughters, Dory and Fia Kamen. Chang's wives were played by Mary Finch, Natasha Ramirez Leland, and Erin Neff. The Dalian Acrobatic Troupe performed aerial and floor stunts and played numerous supernumerary roles alongside the San Francisco Opera Chorus. The premiere was directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and conducted by Steven Sloane.
Read more about this topic: The Bonesetter's Daughter
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