Roberto Perlas Gómez. Photo by Angel Origgi.
The premiere of any new opera is an event, but one about the wartime removal of Japanese American is worth noting. The Camp by seasoned composer Daniel Kessner and librettist Lionelle Hamanaka premiered at the Aratani Theater at the JACCC, and with partnership with the JACCC, in historic Little Tokyo in Los Angeles last month for four performances.
Directed by Diana Wyenn, the story follows the Shimono family, whose lives in the fishing enclave of Terminal Island in San Pedro are shattered after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The knife edge of war puts in play series divisions within the family, starting with the father’s detention by the FBI, and continues with further cuts within the family with camp life, loyalty questions, and decisions of military enlistment.
These themes have already had treatments in other performance genres, including plays, dance, another short opera, and notably the musical Allegiance.
But why opera, and what does The Camp have to offer?
For many decades, opera companies largely only served a fare of established repertoire pieces centering on opera from the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, in the past decade more and more new operas have premiered, most centering on social and current issues that appeal to modern audiences.
When crafted effectively, the pairing of drama with music can deliver an emotional punch greater than the words alone, and among the most affected are those already versed in the language of opera. There are, however, challenges in the genre.
Most notably, text is delivered slowly in the elongated singing style, especially in modern opera. Additionally, the use of grand gestures of the tuneful song style so common Broadway musicals for instance, are uncommon in modern opera.
Appropriately so, the musical painting of The Camp’s plot descending into darkness lacks any show stopping numbers or lightning-fast text delivery of Hamilton, and depends on the musical subtlety alone to carry the drama.
There is no doubt whatsoever of Kessner’s skill as a composer, especially epitomized by the first act’s splendid duet of husband and wife mourning the loss of their home (sung so skillfully by Roberto Perlas Gomez and Alexandra Bass), but not all audiences will resonate completely with the opera’s overall musical style, regardless of its skillful excellence.
The story crafted by Lionelle Hamanaka engages, especially in the second act when the story elements cascade. To be effective, audiences must invest in the Shimono family’s ordinary lives upended tragically by events, and they do. The unconventional ending where plot lines are courageously left untied, but are balanced with a message so current that it is both haunting and satisfying.
There is so much that was exceptional in execution. Strong performances came from every single cast member, led by a team of outstanding directors and designers. It is a shame that they cannot all be credited here.
Japanese Americans tend to be the toughest critics of historical inaccuracies of internment stories, but The Camp avoided the usual pitfalls, because of close consultation with experts and camp survivors. The resource page in the printed program invited viewers to learn more from top-notch experts and sources.
But it is because of Kessner’s expertise in Japanese music, his growing up in the post war neighborhood adjacent to LIttle Tokyo, and his lifelong friendships with Japanese Americans that so much of The Camp works so well because his music powers everything. Although Kessner began writing this opera five years ago in 2020, it actually was in the making for decades.
Will there be additional performances outside Los Angeles? That question remains unanswered. The large cast of Asian American singers and a 20 piece orchestra plus koto and shakuhachi was made possible with the rich talent pool in LA, but outside the area, those requirements make additional productions daunting, as would be raising the funds.
The four performances of The Camp may represent a singular rare event where every element of production, creation, and performance came together miraculously and exploded, all at the right time, place, and with exactly the right people. But let’s hope not.
