On October 3, 2011, Chinese-American Army Pvt. Danny Chen was found dead in a guard tower at his base in Afghanistan. The opera “An American Soldier” is based on his story and the ensuing courts-martial of Chen’s fellow soldiers.
“An American Solider” is having its New York City premiere at PAC NYC May 12-19 in a new 2024 version co-commissioned by PAC NYC and Boston Lyric Opera.
Composed by Huang Ruo, “An American Solider” features a libretto by our guest, David Henry Hwang.
Hwang’s work includes the plays ”M. Butterfly,” “Chinglish,” “Yellow Face,” “Golden Child,” “The Dance and the Railroad,” and “FOB,” as well as the Broadway musicals “Aida,” ”Flower Drum Song” and Disney’s “Tarzan.” His newest musical, “Soft Power,” written with composer Jeanine Tesori, opened in 2019 at New York’s Public Theatre, where it received four Outer Critics Honors, a 2021 Grammy Nomination, and was a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
Called America’s most-produced living opera librettist by Opera News, Hwang has written thirteen libretti, including five works with composer Philip Glass. Hwang has written three works with Huang Ruo and two with Bright Sheng, as well as operas with Unsuk Chin and Howard Shore.
Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a Grammy Award winner and two-time nominee, a three-time Obie Award winner, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. He is also a professor of theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts. Hwang was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2018 and his star was unveiled in 2022 on the Lucille Lortel Playwrights Sidewalk in New York City.
His play “Yellow Face” will have its Broadway debut this fall at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Todd Haimes Theatre, starring Daniel Dae Kim.
