PARADISE TBD, a world premiere opera by Clinton McCallum

PARADISE TBD is a chamber opera for five singers and electronics by Clinton McCallum that explores the aftermath of natural disasters, and the ways that memory and trauma shape our collective subconscious. Each of the characters come from a different time and place, and come to discover that they are survivors of cataclysmic events including Hurricane Katrina, the Wuhan flood of 1931, the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, and the great Bengal famine of 1770. These characters find themselves floating together on a raft in an infinite void, and by telling their harrowing stories they participate in a ritual of community-building and confession. They are guided through the process of remembering by a mysterious figure, who speaks with language beyond human understanding and leads the group to a collective transformation.

PARADISE TBD investigates the ways that climate change, poverty, colonialism, and corruption inflict generational trauma on people living on the precarious edges of society. The opera suggests that communal healing can be achieved through the act of storytelling, and seeks to locate the possibility of a more utopian future within the rubble of the past and present.

PARADISE TBD is directed by Robert Castro with music direction by Brendan Nguyen. The cast of local singers includes sopranos Mariana Flores Bucio and Anishka Lee-Skorepa, mezzo-soprano Leslie Ann Leytham, baritone Jonathan Nussman, and tenor Miguel Angel Zazueta.

Programs and text will be provided in English and Spanish. Get tickets