First-time experiences and timeless themes intersect and often overlap in Both Eyes Open, an experimental electroacoustic opera by Brooklyn-based composer Max Giteck Duykers and Berkeley-based librettist and playwright Philip Kan Gotanda. Presented by New Performance Traditions in two performances Feb. 15–16 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Playhouse, the production is directed by Melissa Weaver, conducted by David Milnes, and features baritone Suchan Kim, soprano Zen Wu, tenor John Kun Park, UC Berkeley’s Eco Ensemble with guest artist Joel Davel on marimba lumina, and the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus under the direction of Wei Cheng.
Eschewing the grand scale of other harrowing compositions set during World War II, Both Eyes Open narrows its artistic aperture to look at a central character and his family’s experience. The story concerns a Japanese American farmer and his wife, who are forced to relocate to an American incarceration camp. Before they leave their family farm, they bury a Daruma doll on the land.
The traditional papier-mache dolls are given to people before they embark on a challenging journey or after they have made a serious promise or vow. Initially, only one eye is painted on the doll’s face — to symbolize commitment. The second eye is blacked out when the doll is burned during a ceremony to celebrate later success.
Through the tragedy of Both Eyes Open, the farmer loses his trust in America and his sense of patriotism. Embedded within this incredible trauma, however, are multiple love stories: for the land, family, and community.
“Philip and I did two early versions [of the opera], and then the current one started in 2016,” Duykers said. “We workshopped that across the United States over the past several years, and it premiered in June 2022 at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. Philip would send story treatments and some language. I’d push back and say we needed more syllables or to expand an idea. Every phrase got kicked back and forth. I’d be at the piano, then go back and say there had to be more melismas and other nuances.”
Both Eyes Open delves into the psychological, emotional, and physical impact of incarceration, making use of soaring vocal lyricism, bold taiko drumming, electric sampling, interactive audio and video, and movement to craft the work’s narrative arc.
“What I strive for is music that’s rhythmic, low, visceral, and moves you from the inside of your body,” said Duykers. “Philip and I had that shared sensibility. That kept us going. He’s economical with his text: one-syllable words and short phrases. He’s been writing about this for 40 years, so he wanted to write about the soul of the character. We both wanted to bring the personal struggle into it and just kept on working and reworking it until we got it right.”
The UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus will help provide the narrative in these upcoming performances. “They’re like a mini-Greek chorus, and there are four monks who sing behind the Daruma doll. The other 40 or so singers are arranged around the stage.”
Duykers said that despite his deep involvement in the piece’s creation,“I felt a little like a guest in this project because I’m a white American. But I still feel attached [to the opera], and it’s telling a story that’s not been told. The goal is to have audiences connect to this person’s soul. By stripping away the artifice, we get to the central idea. Opera writing has helped me focus all my composing. There is a social justice story [here], but it is centered in an imagined story about individual people and communities — [a story that has] love, humor, and is entertaining. It’s not all grim and tragic, and I hope people will take away from this and all my work much more than just chronological history.”
