The experiences of Japanese Americans forcibly relocated and virtually imprisoned in internment camps during World War II have begun to make their way onto American stages, such as the 2015 Broadway musical Allegiance, inspired by the childhood experiences of actor George Takei. One of the latest such works is the opera Both Eyes Open by composer Max Duykers and librettist Philip Kan Gotanda. It premiered in 2022 in San Francisco and just had its New York premiere in January. The opera, which features tenor John Duykers, Max Duykers' father, in one of the roles, follows a man who loses his wife in the camp, struggles with questions about his loyalty to the U.S., and returns home to find his farm now belongs to someone else. It also weaves in the underlying role that anti-Asian sentiment played during this time, and poses questions about where we are now.
A Tempo host Rachel Katz met with Gotanda and Max Duykers before the New York performance and shares their conversation about the opera on this week's edition.
