"Dream of the Red Chamber" (红樓夢) as opera in English

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“Dream of the Red Chamber” (红樓夢) as opera in English


     The Chinese Heritage Foundation Friends of Minnesota is please to confirm plans for a commission with  the San Francisco Opera for a fall 2016 world premiere of “Dream of the Red Chamber,” are finalized. The production will feature music by world-renowned Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng (Madame Mao, Silver River) and an English-language libretto by the composer and Tony Award-winning Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly and Chinglish).

     The new work is based on the novel “Dream of the Red Chamber” by 18th-century Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xuequin, and is considered one of the four great classical novels of historic Chinese literature.


     The commission was initiated and funded by the Chinese Heritage Foundation Friends of Minnesota, with leadership support from Mrs. Ming Li Tchou. It will be the first large-scale contemporary treatment of  “Dream“ on the American stage. Presenting this well-known Chinese heartbreaker and timeless love-triangle serve several goals of the mission of CHF Friends: to showcase Chinese literature, encourage innovations in the arts and to promote mutual friendship and understanding among all peoples.

     David Gockley, general director of the San Francisco Opera, is pleased to be collaborating with CHF Friends on this important artistic undertaking. “I look forward to working with Bright Sheng again, with whom I had collaborated previously,”  Gockley says. Both Sheng and Hwang , who had collaborated before (Silver River) and are excited to be working together again, were in the Twin Cities recently to meet with CHF Friends to discuss this important opera initiative. More information is available on the CHF website: http://www.chineseheritagefoundation.org/programs/dream-project.html

Chinese Heritage Foundation. The mission of the Chinese Heritage Foundation is to preserve and promote Chinese heritage, culture and history, and, at the same time, to encourage innovation in the arts.

San Francisco Opera. Recognized internationally as one of the top opera companies in the world — heralded for its first-rate productions and roster of international opera stars. The Company’s season contains 75 performances, often operas, between September and July.


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