Tacoma Method is a powerful telling of the story of the expulsion of the Chinese community from Tacoma, Washington in 1885 with a historically based libretto by Beijing-born poet Zhang Er and evocative and soaring music by Gregory Youtz. This opera will bring your company a whole new cast and a whole new audience.
“This groundbreaking production is not only a significant milestone for the Tacoma Opera but also for the entire community of Tacoma and beyond. My colleagues in the audience said they cannot wait for the Met Opera to do this! The entire cast was superb, music captivating, the drama intense and enabled the audience to really get inside the heart of this case of discrimination…” – Sarah Ioannides, conductor
“Greg’s musical imagination, his deep understanding and knowledge of Chinese music, his fine sense of dramatic timing, his colorful, creative orchestration and beautiful vocal writing brought to life Zhang Er’s insightful, penetratingly powerful libretto. The orchestra was fabulous. The stage direction brought it all together. The cast was wonderful; all of the singers were fantastic vocally and in their roles. I was moved to tears. This opera needs to be staged seen around the country. It is a superb work.”
– Dawn Sonntag, composer
“I am still processing this weekend of 3 back-to-back performances of Tacoma Method at Tacoma Opera. It was dramatically and vocally demanding; but I felt empowered because I played a mom, a wife, a believer of the American dream AND a person of Asian heritage. Never have I ever felt so liberated and authentic on an operatic stage—I got to play myself and share some of my lived experiences to a certain extent. What a ride.
–Soon Cho, leading mezzo-soprano cast member
CONTACT:
Gregory Youtz, Composer youtzgl@plu.edu
Zhang Er, Librettist zhanger@evergreen.edu
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Tacoma Method: a new full-length opera 