It's not often that I get to go to the opera, so when my friend Betty called me and told me that she had tix to the world premier of the new opera based on Amy Tan's novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter, I jumped at the chance to go!
Actually, this was the final dress rehearsal before the premiere. As such, it would be performed straight through, but we were warned ahead of time that there may be adjustments on stage during the performance.
Betty and I found ourselves seated in central Orchestra seats -- the best seats in the house! And she had received her tickets free, from a friend who worked in the video department of the SF Opera. Wow, you can't beat that deal! Betty bought a chocolate cake for her friend by way of thanks for the opera tickets, with knives, forks, serviettes and paper plates so the whole video department could all share.
The storyline was as exotic as Old China, with a ghost, a magical dragon bone that guaranteed "longest-lasting life" and a tragedy of Greek proportions at the story's center. Yet, it was also as homely and true to the heart as the eternal conflict between mother and daughter: love and sacrifice, guilt and protection, drama, tears and forgiveness.
The music was haunting and lovely, using traditional Chinese instruments as well as the usual Western orchestra. It reminded me (and from this you can tell that I am not a true opera aficionado) of the score from the movie Pan's Labyrinth by Javier Navarrete in the way the bass lines (in the orchestra) undergirded the soaring soprano voices.
And what voices! The three lead sopranos: Zheng Cao, Ning Liang, and Qian Yi have gorgeous voices, blending perfectly together, yet each with a subtly different timbre and tone. Their articulation and diction was perfect. They were completely believable as mothers and daughters.
The story concerns Ruth, an American-born Chinese woman, LuLing, Ruth's mother, an immigrant woman from a previous generation (the one that escaped during the 1940's), and Precious Auntie, a disfigured ghost from another world who clutches a DRAGON BONE, supposed to guarantee "longest-lasting life": immortality to she who owns it.
In a bare bones synopsis: After her mother, with whom Ruth has had a troubled relationship, collapses during a family party, Ruth must travel back in time to her mother's ancestral village, Immortal Heart. Accompanied by Precious Auntie, she discovers the terrible secret her mother has carried with her all these years, and in the process, many truths about love and sacrifice, what is true, what is eternal, what is truly "longest-lasting life".
As the opera unfolded, with incredible special effects: back projection, moving sets shaped like bones, acrobats on wires, and, most importantly FABULOUS acting by the singers (something not always seen at the opera) I found myself in tears by the final act.
So, if you like opera, or Amy Tan, or special effects, I highly recommend going to see The Bonesetter's Daughter. I think that, unlike many modern operas, this one might, just might, be one for the ages.
