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In 2011 the MN-based Chinese Heritage Foundation (CHF) initiated a pie-in-the-sky project, to commission a new opera based on Dream of the Red Chamber. The goal was to fulfill its mission to showcase the best of Chinese literature and, at the same time, to encourage innovation in the arts.  The Foundation wished to reach out to touch the universal heart in everyone with an aching Chinese love triangle story, told through the 21^st-century lens that will resonate with a contemporary audience.  In so doing it hoped to create opportunities for dialogue that will promote mutual understanding and friendship among all peoples.

Encouraged by the interest and desire of David Gockley, then General Director of the San Francisco Opera, to reach out to the substantial Chinese community in San Francisco, we joined forces with him to create the first western-style grand opera to be based on Dream of the Red Chamber.  Composer Bright Sheng worked closely with librettist David Henry Hwang to create a dramatically cogent libretto,one that sharpened the focus on the plight of, or limited options available to, both men and women at that time, By empowering both principal characters, BaoYu and DaiYu, to attempt to take control of their fates within the confines of the social conventions of 18th-century China, Bright (now listed as co-librettist) and David have created an empathetic script that will resonate with a contemporary audience and draw them into a timeless Chinese love story.

In September 2016 San Francisco Opera presented the world premiere of this Opera to worldwide acclaim (https://chfmn.org/dream/).  It went on to tour to Hong Kong, Beijing and several cities in China in the following year before returning to San Francisco for a triumphant revival in 2022 ().

Grand and sumptuous as the San Francisco Opera’s production was, a sobering reality soon became apparent to CHF that this was a production that would be beyond the reach of most mid-seized opera companies or universities/music conservatories everywhere.  So CHF went back to work, this time to help create a chamber version that could be produced on a modest budget.  Bright was interested and willing, so were two key professors at the UMN School of Music: Mark Russell Smith, director of orchestral studies and David Walsh, director of Opera Theatre.  Together they further tightened and streamlined the action, and expanded the role of dance to propel the drama along.  Bright also reduced the orchestration to 36 instruments, a manageable size for most opera companies (https://chfmn.org/world-premiere-of-a-chamber-orchestral-version-of-dream-of-the-red-chamber/?swcfpc=1).

With the advice and input of Tim Yip, original designer of the San Francisco Opera’s production, David Walsh created an innovative stage design comprising a bridge that leads deep into the stage and under which the orchestra sat, thus freeing up much space up front for many of the actions to take place.

It is worth noting that in recent years the UMN Opera Studio, under David Walsh, has established a solid reputation among and been attracting major voice talent from China.  Currently the Studio consists of ~95% Chinese students.  Walsh therefore had no trouble casting Dream of the Red Chamber with primarily Chinese students from his studio.  In fact, the Opera Theatre, and the School orchestra with its high percentage of Asian string players, have built their own microcosm, of Chinese students and local Chinese volunteer dancers interacting with the primarily Caucasian choir, stage crew and lighting designers.  Amid much laughter and conversations, there was much give and take, with dancers chipping in to help the stage crew with scene changes, moving of props, etc., all with seemingly smooth coordination and ease.  Everyone was united behind showcasing this heartbreaking love story to an attentive audience, and they succeeded.  The audience, close to full for all four performances, sat with rapt attention, brought into close proximity to the action by the enlarged and protruding stage (with the usual orchestra pit covered over) and by the large hanging screens on two sides of the concert hall, and felt that they were actually right there as the tragedy unfolded.  Director Walsh’s intention of creating an immersive experience for the audience has succeeded brilliantly.

In the afterglow of success and positive reviews (https://chfmn.org/michael-anthony-on-dream-of-the-red-chamber/), organizers, including CHF, feel that they have achieved their primary goal of presenting this wonderful opera on a modest budget, yet able to showcase major voice talent with bright futures and achieving artistic successes on many levels: stage design, incorporation of dance as an integral partner, tighter dramatic action and, importantly, stressing the core intent of a chamber version: highlighting the intimate aspects of the story.  The backstage story is of equal importance, the natural evolution of easy cooperation among all involved, is the real beginning of a relationship built on mutual trust, the foundational element necessary for the building of mutual understanding and abiding friendship.

Several mid-sized organizations around the country have already expressed an interest in mounting/presenting their own productions of this chamber version. Hope is high that this modest version will be presented often, in this country and elsewhere, generating opportunities for discussions on the role of culture in builfing mutual understanding, trust and friendship.