The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown

Artists

Composer: Jason Kao Hwang
Librettist: Catherine Filloux

Director: Jean Randich
Conductor: Juan Carlos Rivas
Lighting/Projection design: Clifton Taylor
Set design: Alexander Dodge
Costume design: Linda Cho

Singers

Sandia Ang (Eva or Yee-Wa, Soprano)
Ryu-Kyung Kim (Mother, Mezzo-contralto)
Zheng Zhou (Father, Baritone)

Musicians

Min Xiao Fen, Orchestra (pipa)
Diana Herold, Orchestra (vibraphone)
Michael Lowenstern (Clarinet)
William Schimmel, Orchestra (accordion)
Satoshi Takeishi, Orchestra (percussion)
Tomas Ulrich, Orchestra (cello)
Wang Guo Wei, Orchestra (huqin)

Bios:

Jason Kao Hwang (Composer) During his Meet the Composer Residency at the Asia Society, Mr. Hwang has composed for Music From China including Bending Duration, Breathing Distance and Interior Migrations. His educational work with high school students at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas was documented by WNYC's Morning Edition. Mr. Hwang's ensemble, The Far East Side Band, has released two CDs, Urban Archaeology (Victo Records) and Caverns (New World Records). They have performed at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen (Austria), the duMaurier Ltd. International Jazz Festival (Vancouver), International Festival Musique Actuelle (Victoriaville), Beijing International Jazz Festival, Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, Freer Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Visions Festival (NYC) and many other stages. His compositions for film include two feature documentaries for PBS, Sue Williams' China: Born Under the Red Flag and Judith Vecchione's Tug of War, The Story of Taiwan, and source music for Martin Scorcese's Kundun. Recently, CRI released Mr. Hwang's composition Flight of Whispers on eXchange: China, a compilation CD of Chinese American composers. As a violinist, he has performed on recordings including Anthony Braxton's 1996 Sextet (Istanbul) and 1995 Octet (NYC), Dominic Duval's The Navigator (Leo); Henry Threadgill's Come Save the Day (Columbia) and Butch Morris's Dust to Dust and Testament: A Conduction Collection (New World). Over the years, he has performed with numerous artists including Vladamir Tarasov, Reggie Workman, Makanda Ken MacIntyre, Sirone and William Parker.

Catherine Filloux (Librettist) Catherine Filloux's play, Mary and Myra, received its premiere production at Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. CATF has commissioned her new play about Cambodia, to be produced in 2002. Catherine is the winner of the 1999 Roger L. Stevens award from The Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays for her play Eyes of the Heart. Her screenplay by the same name was selected for the 1996 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and is the winner of the O'Neill's 1996 Eric Kocher Playwrights Award. She developed Eyes for Lifetime TV. Photographs from S-21, from the "The Museum Plays," was a finalist for the 1999 Heideman Award at Actors Theatre of Louisville and is the winner of the 1999 Nausicaa Franco-American Play Contest; it was produced in Paris, and recently appeared in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in Khmer and French, in tandem with Night Please Go Faster, a play which she developed with actors from Phnom Penh's National Theatre. Photographs was also at Boston Center of the Arts, performed by Cambodian actors from the Lowell, Massachusetts community. Her other plays have been produced in New York and around the country. Her short plays will be published by Smith & Kraus. Filloux has developed an oral history project, A Circle of Grace, with the Cambodian Women's Group at St. Rita's Refugee Center in Bronx, New York. She was awarded a 2001 Artist's Residency Grant from the Asian Cultural Council for her playwriting work in Cambodia. She received her French Baccalaureate in Toulon, France, and her M.F.A. from the Dramatic Writing Program at New York University. She is a member of New Dramatists.

Jean Randich (Director) Jean Randich has been directing new work in diverse cultures for the past fifteen years. Recent credits: Drawn to Death, a three panel opera by Art Spiegelman and Phillip Johnston (Dartmouth College, Hopkins Center, 2001); The Unknown, a silent musical, (Page 73 Productions); Girl Under Grain (Winner: Best Drama, NY International Fringe Festival 2000); Travels with My Aunt (Portland Stage Company, Portland, ME); the 1999 Obie-cited He Who Says Yes; He Who Says No (NAATCO; NYC); Gum (Magic Theatre, San Francisco); Alice Down the Hole (Access Theater); and The Golden Door (Tenement Theater and NYC Fringe Festival). Jean has also directed at En Garde Arts (J.P. Morgan Saves the Nation), and the Dallas Theatre Center, as well as in Germany and Norway. Jean is the winner of the NEA/TCG Director Fellowship, and a Fox Foundation Fellowship. She has served as the George Abbott Resident Director at New Dramatists. She has written the libretto for a new opera, The Miraculous Phonograph Record, commissioned by the Dallas Opera. A professor of Drama at Bennington College, Jean received a Masters in Creative Writing from Brown University and an MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Juan Carlos Rivas (Conductor) Following his 1998 debut at the Teatro Colón de Bogotá with L'elisir d'amore, Juan Carlos Rivas has conducted La fille du regiment and Romeo et Juliette. He has also served as music director for Eine Nacht in Venedig and La vie parisienne at the Teatro Camarín del Carmen. His other operatic engagements have included a gala presentation of scenes from Samson et Dalilah, Il Trovatore, La Boheme, Norma and other operas, and a production of Dido and Aeneas for which he served both as conductor and stage director. He has been conductor of the Orquesta de la Opera de Colombia since 1997. His experience with contemporary music includes conducting the Carlo Gesualdo Ensemble in several concerts of world premieres. Mr. Rivas was a winner of the Rosa Sabater Prize in the International Course of Spanish Music in Santiago de Compostela, Spain in 1992. In 2000 he was honored with a Fulbright Scholarship for study in the United States. Before commencing his solo conducting career, Mr. Rivas gained operatic experience as a chorus master, preparing over twenty productions for the Opera de Colombia since 1993. As Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for the Caramoor Festival (Katonah, NY) he has participated in eight operatic productions since 1996. He has also collaborated with the Handel Project in the Manhattan School of Music and with the Tiroler Lander Theater in Austria. Among his future engagements Mr. Rivas includes conducting a production of Don Pasquale in April 2002 at Caramoor.

Alexander Dodge (Set Designer) has designed the sets for Broadway the production of Hedda Gabler and the Off-Broadway productions of Chaucer in Rome (Lincoln Center Theatre); Force Continuum, Sexual Perversity in Chicago (Atlantic Theatre Co.); The Rivals (The Acting Company); Viva Las Vegas (Cucaracha Theatre Co); It Changes Every Year, Sons and Fathers (Malaparte Theatre Co.). Mr. Dodge has also worked on a variety of Regional theatre productions, such as On the Jump (Arena Stage), Heartbreak House, Hedda Gabler (Huntington Theatre Co.); Wit, The Mystery of Irma Vep (Dallas Theater Center); Observe the Sons of Ulster, Hedda Gabler, Chaucer in Rome, Evolution, Dreading Thekla (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Best Kept Secret (Berkshire Theatre Festival); Twelfth Night (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); The Glass Menagerie, Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Yale Repertory Theatre.) Mr. Dodge has also designed the sets for operas such as Cosi Cosa (Lincoln Center Institute); and The Consul(University of Michigan). Mr. Dodge is a Graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Linda Cho (Costume Designer) New York credits include Princess Turnadot and Hotel Universe (Blue Light Theatre Company); More Lies About Jerzy (Vineyard Theatre);Hurricane (CSC Rep); The Author’s Voice and Imagining Brad (Drama Department); The Belmont Avenue Social Club (The Working Theatre Company) and Wolf Lullaby directed by Neil Pepe (Atlantic Theatre Company).

Other credits include the feature films Bookie’s Lament and True Nature; A Little Night Music (Goodspeed Opera House); Hair(Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Firecracker with Michael Mao Dance Company; Merchant of Venice; Measure for Measure and All's Well That Ends Well (New Jersey Shakespeare Festival); Orpheo ed Euridice (Virginia Opera); Twelfth Night (Amaryllis Theatre Company); Molly Sweeney (Quick Center for the Arts); Virtual Motion (Sacred Fools Theater Company, Los Angeles, CA);How I Learned to Drive; Home and Beauty Queen of Leenanne (TheaterWorks) and several productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival including: Tonight at 8:30 Directed by Anne Reinking; Skin of Our Teeth, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Turandot all directed by Darko Tresnak; Donald Margulies’ Broken Sleep, directed by Lisa Peterson; Rocket to the Moon starring Marisa Tomei and directed by Joanne Woodward;All My Sons directed by Barry Edelstein and Hard Times directed by Tony Phalen.

Sandia Ang (Eva or Yee-Wa, Soprano), a native of China, enjoys an active career as both an operatic performer and as a recitalist in the United States and Asia. She has appeared in three world premieres: at the Kennedy Center, as the Doctor in Angel’s Voices; in New York, in the role of Miss Daly in The Dead; and in Hong Kong, originating the role of the Nightingale in The Emperor and the Nightingale. Ms. Ang was recently seen as Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme, and as the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. She was also Lady Thiang in the musical The King and I. Ms. Ang especially likes to introduce the Chinese culture to her varied audiences. She performed as the featured artists in Nassau County Park’s China Night Concert series. She led a workshop created by The Great Neck Arts Council, and presented as part of the Kennedy Center Partnership. The program was entitled Breaking Down the Great Wall of China. Ms. Ang presented this program to the teachers of the Great Neck School District and the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District.

Ryu-Kyung Kim (Mezzo) with the Virginia and Baltimore Opera Companies, is a perennial prize winner, her most recent awards being those of the Oratorio Society of N.Y., the Liederkranz Foundation Voice Competition, The Annapolis Voice Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Philadelphia District Auditions, the Santa Fe Opera Scholarship for Outstanding Apprentice Artists, the Alumni Award and the President's Awards from the Manhattan School of Music.

Now making her home in the United States, Ryu-Kyung Kim, a native of Seoul, Korea, received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees for the Manhattan School of Music. She has studied at the Israel Vocal Arts Institute and at the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy.

Her immediate future engagements are with the Baltimore Opera in Otello and Lucia. Ryu-Kyung Kim's most recent operatic stints have been in Carmen, La Traviata with the Virginia Opera; Béatrice et Bénédict, Madame Butterfly and Idomeneo with the Santa Fe Opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Fledermaus with the Philadelphia Academy of Vocal Arts and Cos fan Tutte with the Pacific Music Festival.

She is in frequent demand as a soloist in Oratorio, having so far appeared in Bach's Magnificat, Händel's Israel in Egypt , Mozart's c minor Mass with the Concerto Soloist Orchestra of Philadelphia, Haydn's Harmoniemesse with the Philomusica Orchestra and Chorale, Beethoven's C Major Mass with the Washington, D.C. Festival Symphony, Händel's Messiah with the Houston Civic Orchestra, Mahler's Symphony No. 8 at the Manhattan School of Music and at Carnegie Hall and Mozart's Coronation Mass with the National Christian Festival.

Ryu-Kyung Kim's appearance in The Floating Box: A Story of Chinatown under the auspices of the Asia Society marks her first appearance in a premiere.

Zheng Zhou (Father, Baritone), in the 2000-2001 season makes his debut with Vancouver Opera as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other 2000-2001 performances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Choral Arts Society of Washington D.C. and Carmina Burana with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony. In the 2001-2002 season Mr. Zhou will premier the role of Manli in Kanin Chan’s Iron Road with Tapestry New Opera Works in Toronto, perform Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’ White Raven at the Lincoln Center Festival, and perform the role of the father in the world premiere of The Floating Box at the opening of the Asia Society and Museum. Mr. Zhou has also been invited to sing Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New York Choral Society at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Zheng Zhou made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1993 as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and later returned to sing Ping in Turadot and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia. His San Francisco Opera debut came in 1992 in La forza del destino; with that company he has also sung in Milhaud’s Christophe Columb. He sang the roles for the Father and Ludovic in Philip Glass’ La Belle et la Bête at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and subsequently on tour across the United States, Europe, and Mexico, and can be heard on the recording of the piece. He has also appeared in two other Glass operas: in the premiere of The White Raven with Expo ’98 in Lisbon and at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and as Abraham Lincoln in The Civil Wars with the American Composers’ Orchestra at Carnegie Hall under Dennis Russell Davies. His other operatic engagements include the premieres of Bright Sheng’s Song of Majnun and Qigang Chen’s Poème Lyrique with the San Francisco Symphony; Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Tulsa opera; and the Count in Le nozze di Figaro both with Illinois Opera Theatre and in the Philippines. Zheng Zhou’s orchestral repertoire includes Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms at the Tanglewood Festival with Seiji Ozawa; Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem (at Carnegie Hall and with the Jacksonville Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and the Shanghai Symphony) and John Nelson in the work’s Chinese premiere. Mr. Zhou can be heard as Abraham Lincoln on Nonesuch Records’ recording of Philip Glass’ The Civil Wars, as the baritone soloist in Johannes Somary’s Song of Innocence on Premier Recordings, and in Jerrold Fisher’s Hosannah on Compact Disc Digital Audio. He has appeared on the San Francisco Opera’s Schwabacher Debut Recital Series, and has given recitals at Tanglewood and in Baden bei Wien, Austria. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois, St. Louis Conservatory, the Shanghai Conservatory, and a diploma in Lieder performance from the Schubert Institute in Vienna.

Min Xiao-Fen (Pipa) hails from China. She was pipa soloist for the Nanjing National Music Orchestra and was a winner at pipa competitions throughout China. Known for her virtuosity and fluid style, she has received acclaim for her classical, contemporary and jazz performances. She has worked with the New York City Opera, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the vocal ensemble Chanticleer, the San Francisco Opera Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Shanghai Radio Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Min has performed at the Vienna Music Festival, the Brussels Lute Festival, the Geneva Music Festival and at jazz festivals in France, Spain, Canada and other countries. Her work appears on such record labels as Tzadik, Asphodel, Delos, Verve and BMG. Min's solo recording, The Moon Rising (Cala), was hailed by BBC Music Magazine as "one of the best CDs of 1996." Her recording Viper (Avant), improvisations with Derek Bailey, was one of The Wire 1998 "Albums of the Year." She also premiered Tan Dun's Peony Pavilion (Sony), an opera with director Peter Sellars.

William Schimmel (Accordion) earned a Doctorate of Music from The Julliard School where he studied with Elliot Carter, Vincent Persichetti, Roger Sessions and Hugo Weisgall. A composer, author, lecturer, philosopher and virtuoso accordionist, he performs music from the classical realm to pop, and has performed under such conductors as Eugene Romandy. Leonard Bernstien, Eric Leinsdorf. Sir George Solti, Zubin Mehta, Andre Previn, Pierre Boulez, Sara Caldwell and Gunter Schuller. Pop star colleagues range from Sting to Tom Waits, who says, “Bill Schimmel doesn’t play the accordion; he is the accordion.” Regarded as the “World’s Greatest Accordionist” by National Public Radio, Dr. Schimmel is also considered an authority on Kurt Weill, having recorded all of Weill’s music on the accordion. He is a prolific composer, from concert stage to Broadway theater. He is the founder of the renowned Tango project, and has appeared with Al Pacino in the film, Scent of a Woman, True Lies, Kundunand others. Keyboard Magazine cited Dr. Schimmel as “Best Accordionist” and the figure who philosophically has done the most to elevate the accordion’s image in mainstream musical forms, such as classical, ethnic, avant-garde and pop Dr. Schimmel’s theater works have made accordion history.

Satoshi Takeishi (Percussion) drummer, percussionist, and arranger is a native of Mito Japan. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Berklee he developed an interest in the music of South America and went to live in Colombia following the invitation of a friend. One of the projects he worked on while in Colombia was Macumbia with composer/arranger Francisco Zumaque in which traditional, jazz and classical music were combined. With this group he performed with the Bogota Symphony Orchestra to do a series of concerts honoring the music of the most popular composer in Colombia, Lucho Bermudes. In 1986 he returned to the U.S. in Miami where he began work as an arranger. In 1987 he produced Morning Ride for jazz flutist Nestor Torres on Polygram Records. His interest expanded to the rhythms and melodies of the Middle East where he studied and performed with Armenian-American oud master Joe Zeytoonian. Since moving to New York in 1991 he has performed and recorded with many musicians such as Ray Barretto, Carlos ‘Patato’ Valdes, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Eddie Gomez, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Mark Murphy, Herbie Mann, Paul Winter Consort, Rabih Abu Khalil, and Pablo Ziegler to name a few. He continues to explore multi-cultural and improvisational music with local musicians and composers in New York. His most recent project is arrangements of Colombian folk music with Colombian singer Lucia Pulido, which will be released from the German label Intuition Records in Sep 2001.

Tomas Ulrich (Cello), a cellist-composer, received music degrees from Boston University and the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Ulrich has performed with such artists as Anthony Davis, Joe Lovano, Gerry Hemingway, Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, Simon Shaheen, Herb Robertson, Dominic Duval, Ben Allison, Kevin Norton, Ted Nash, Uri Caine and Dave Douglas. He is also a member of the Diller-Quaile String Quartet which premiered his Quintet for Trumpet and Strings (featuring guest soloist Herb Robertson) in May of 1996. Jazz Now has characterized Mr. Ulrich as "the total package...incredible chops, great imagination and superb pitch. He fulfills the roles of bassist, guitarist and additional horn player and is endlessly talented and creative." Mr. Ulrich has written music for theater, film and instrumental performance and has concertized throughout Europe, Japan, South America, Canada and the United States.

Wang Guowei (huqin) hails from the Shanghai Traditional Orchestra where he was erhu soloist and concertmaster. He holds a degree from the Shanghai Conservatory and has received awards at major competitions that include the 1982 National Traditional Music Solo Exhibition, 1989 ART Cup International Chinese Musical Instrument Competition, and the 1993 15th Annual Shanghai Spring Music Festival. Wang Guowei has toured Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Canada, Australia, and the U.S. after joining Music From China in 1996 as Artistic Director, Mr. Wang has performed with the New Music Consort, Camerata at Peabody Conservatory, Bay Youth Concert Orchestra, Norfolk Chamber Consort, Four Nations Ensemble, Ethos Percussion Group, and the New York Percussion Quarter. He was hailed by music critics for his “beautiful playing” of the gaohu concerto Butterfly Lovers with the Virginia Symphony conducted by JoAnn Falletta; and acclaimed for “magnetism” of his erhu solos and “phenomenal technique and artistry” by critics of The New York Times and other newspapers. Wang Guowei was commissioned by the Australian Ministry of Culture in 1997 to compose and perform Tea House which premiered on ABC Radio National and was presented at the 1998 Adelaide Festival of the Arts; and by the Ethos Percussion Group to compose a work for percussion quartet which premiered at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He is recipient of an invitation from the American Composers Forum’s 1999 Composers Commissioning Program to compose a work for Music From China which will premiere in Fall, 2001.