JADE STAR HOTEL
CREATED AND COMPOSED by Stephanie Chou
LIbretto by susan kander
JADE STAR HOTEL is the story of a Chinese 'comfort woman', a cruel euphemism for the women who were abducted and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army in the 1930s and ‘40s. In 1939, sixteen-year-old Lian is kidnapped by Japanese soldiers from her own wedding in a rural village in Manchuria and kept at a military ‘comfort station’ with other women. Though she survives, she is rejected by her family as a “cursed one,” and relegated to the edges of society. Sixty-five years later, a letter arrives from America to the extremely modest apartment she shares with her daughter and granddaughter, causing Old Lian to finally share her story with her only family. JADE STAR HOTEL is a tribute to the more than 200,000 comfort women, and to their courage in finally telling their stories. This new chamber opera is based on the 2019 Comfort Girl song cycle by Stephanie Chou.
GIVE NOW TO THE CREATION OF
“JADE STAR HOTEL”
CREATive team
STEPHANIE CHOU
Composer and creator
SUSAN KANDER
Librettist
MEDIA
Jade Star Hotel was inspired by Stephanie Chou's song cycle Comfort Girl, which premiered in 2019 and is based on survivor testimony. The following excerpts will be incorporated in some way into Jade Star Hotel.
PRESS
“It is a stunning work that not only shines light on a dark chapter of history but also feels inspirational for contemporary listeners.”
--DownBeat Magazine, July 2019, "Stephanie Chou's Suite Examines Dark History” (for Comfort Girl song cycle)
“One of New York’s most socially relevant and ambitious jazz talents [...] A Mighty, Harrowing New Suite... a phantasmagorical song cycle [...] What was most striking about the show was not only Chou’s ability to shift between musical styles, but her prowess as a lyricist.”
--New York Music Daily, 2019, "A Mighty, Harrowing New Suite from Stephanie Chou" (for Comfort Girl song cycle)
Information
Duration 90 minutes
Commission and Development Jade Star Hotel commissioned and developed by The American Opera Project. The commissioning of Stephanie Chou for Jade Star Hotel received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Women Composers program supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. It is based on the song cycle Comfort Girl (2019), which was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation. The first two previews and premiere performance of Comfort Girl were made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. LMCC empowers artists by providing them with networks, resources, and support, to create vibrant, sustainable communities in Manhattan and beyond.
Additional Support The audio recording/CD of Comfort Girl has been made possible by funding from generous individual donors, and from the Puffin Foundation. The "5-min promo” presentation, part of OPERA America’s New Works Forum, was made possible, in part, by a generous and deeply appreciated grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Premiere Chamber Opera TBD ; The song cycle Comfort Girl received its World Premiere at Joe’s Pub (NYC) on March 29, 2019.
Instrumentation Jade Star Hotel is a chamber opera for 8-14 instruments, 13-16 singers, 1 dancer. The score is stylistically diverse covering jazz, contemporary classical, pop, Chinese traditional, and more.
Publisher Staged performances of this work require licensing through the creators.
