Kent Nagano’s artistic vision brought to life a musical-dramatic
commemoration of a shameful episode that was a difficult subject to cover
and not an easy project to bring to reality – “Manzanar: An
American Story.” The sold-out multicultural audience at UCLA’s
Royce Hall experienced a program that does what great music presentations
are supposed to do – make one think and/or rethink one’s views/convictions
on important issues. In this case, it was to not forget the unconscionable
lapse of democracy that happened at Manzanar and at other WWII internment
(concentration) camps – ever.
Nagano’s
presence, known as one of America’s most daring and forward-looking
conductor – along with being recognized as one of the best in the
world - galvanized the various creative elements into this new oratorio-like
work about the tragic experience of Japanese American citizens being interned
during WWII. Despite the many compromises that occurred during the creation
of this piece of music - Nagano incorporated the talents Naomi Sekiya,
David Benoit, Jean-Pascal Beintus and American Youth Symphony (artists
that don’t normally fill halls the size of Royce Hall) to perform
with earnest and passion.
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American
Youth Symphony (ucla live) |
Nagano
guided the well-intentioned American Youth Symphony’s enthusiastic
musicians in their efforts to somewhat overcome their inexperience in
effectively communicating this musical journey that began with Ives' "Unanswered
Question," followed by a reading of Plato's "The Apology of
Socrates" and bits of Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" (the
introduction to Act 2 and the "Leonore" No. 3 Overture). Ives
is quiet, mystical, questing. Socrates, as reported by Plato, was rational
as he faced death on charges of corrupting youth and defying religion.
His sentencing, Don Franzen wrote in a program note, "stands as perhaps
history's most emblematic case of democracy gone wrong." Beethoven’s
“Fidelio” highlights the “human ideal” and Florestan’s
unjust imprisonment and victorious release of a political prisoner. These
selections provided a historical perspective that Democracy, its uses
and misuses, is not a new story and not without relevance to world events
today.
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Woodwind
Section (UCLA Live) |
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During
the second half, Naomi Sekiya’s musical contributions were intense,
dramatic, masterfully colored, and uncompromising in its portrayal of
post-camp life. Sekiya included sledgehammer-strong percussive attacks
and bold abstract orchestral effects, which included use of a "sho,"
a traditional Japanese reed instrument. Jean-Pascal Beintus’ contributions
brought a lighter touch for the various vignettes of camp life. David
Benoit’s jazz trio (piano, bass & drums) interjected with pop
music of the era with varying effectiveness – sometimes complimentary,
sometimes providing unnecessary intrusions. Near the end, the Santa Monica
Chamber and Manzanar Youth Choirs’ sang a forgettable “Song
of Manzanar” while Elza van den Heever sang a siren call of hope
and warning.
Philip
Kan Gotanda’s text brought an overview of the Japanese American
experience throughout the 20th century that provided a proper historical
understanding of the inappropriate imprisonment at Manzanar from 1942
to 1945 that highlights the hysteria that surrounds any type of racial
profiling. To Nagano’s credit, it was presented in a sophisticated
and relatively apolitical manner.
Senator
Inouye and Martin Sheen’s narration brought an inspiring dignity
to the words that struck closer to home emanating from Inouye’s
experiences with the internment camp – along with his position in
politics, along with Mr. Sheen’s status of portraying a U.S. president
on a popular and acclaim television program while recognizing his long-standing
reputation as being an advocate for civil rights.
The
acting of the text was workman-like and at time passionate. John Cho’s
solo readings during the first half were unable to effectively fully communicate,
just like the musicians, the many deep emotions that exist within the
retelling of the Japanese American experience of the 20th century in the
United States - and in a wider perspective the experiences of racism faced
by all Asian/Asian Pacific Americans throughout history.
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Kristi Yamaguichi |
After
intermission, the four actors were better able to convey the life and
issues related to the time spent at Manzanar – difficult considering
that the amplification wasn’t adequate. Pat Suzuki’s great
energy contrasted sharply to Kristi Yamaguchi’s (of figure-skating
fame) “best of intentions” reading – though some people
in the audience were attracted to the “innocence” (i.e. a
strong dependence on pure emotion, as opposed to actual “acting”).
Sab Shimono read his lines in a very deliberate fashion, seemingly in
search for a deeper meaning while John Cho (during the second half of
the program) read his lines in earnest.
The program provided a brief overview and insights of Manzanar –
an internment camp in Central California’s Owens Valley where 11,000
Californians and U.S. Japanese American citizens were imprisoned
within a square mile by barbed wire between 1942 and 1945. This occurred
as the result of President Roosevelt’s “Executive Order 9066”
that allowed the Army to round up American residents of Japanese descent
and forcibly relocate them in concentration
camps around the country. Many lost their houses, farms, possessions
and none was ever charged with seditious activities.
It
is a miracle that this oratorio survived, considering that this work of
music (originally proposed by Kevin Star – California’s state
librarian and well-known historian) was intended to be a grand project
along the lines of a symphony to be funded by the state of California,
staged by visionary director Robert Wilson (supposedly the funding was
to be in the millions) and performed at the world’s prestigious
festivals. Private financing resulted in the original musical theater
work being transformed into this 55 minute orchestral score written by
various composers, two narrators, four actors, a solo soprano, a children’s
choir, a women chorus and a jazz trio.
One
might be surprised at the celebratory nature of the program prompted by
this factor being a prerequisite of Hawaii Senator K. Inouye before he
would participate. As Nagano discovered, Manzanar left a record of the
internees not just surviving – but their ability to bring beauty
and art into their lives to honor the raw natural loveliness of the surroundings.
“Manzanar''
speaks with the power of well-intentioned convictions of many people that
is especially noteworthy for any artist – especially a prominent
American artist of Asian descent. Hopefully this musical-dramatic commemoration
will have the opportunity to refine its presentation, clearly define its
unique musical character and incorporate creative elements that provide
the ability to explore deeper into the emotional turmoil embedded with
the internment camps. Kent Nagano deserves a great deal of credit of making
this presentation a reality.
It
is hope that audiences receive what Maestro Kent Nagano stated it “is
a commemoration, but also a warning… Its message is universal, telling
of the fragility of human rights in times of fear and war, and remind[s]
us to be vigilant if liberty is [to] be enlarged, and freedom preserved.”
| “Manzanar''
speaks with the power of well-intentioned convictions of many people
that is especially noteworthy for any artist – especially
a prominent American artist of Asian descent.
Hopefully
this musical-dramatic commemoration will have the opportunity to
refine its presentation, clearly define its unique musical character
and incorporate creative elements that provide the ability to explore
deeper into the emotional turmoil embedded with the internment camps.
Kent Nagano
deserves a great deal of credit of making this presentation a reality.
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It is hope
that audiences receive, remember and embrace what Maestro Kent
Nagano had stated in the past that it
“is a commemoration, but also a warning… Its
message is universal, telling of the fragility of human rights
in times of fear and war, and remind[s] us to be vigilant if liberty
is [to] be enlarged, and freedom preserved.”
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| This
message is important because, as stated by Nagano, "One of the
things that became very clear to me even as a child," he (Nagano)
explained, "is that, like so many historic events, it's subject
to so many different interpretations. There's no single simple story
of what happened, and the times were obviously extremely complicated
— like they are today — and any number of interpretations
or revisions can come out of it."
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“Manzanar
– An American Story” states that Japanese Americans (along
with the other Asian/Asian Pacific American communities, other ethnic
minorities and the general public) can state together the words that “We
are the foreigner become the American” and the oft-stated stanza
of “My Country. My Home. My Land.”
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