What the Horse Eats - BCT Box Office

Indiana University – Jacobs School of Music
Supported by the New Frontiers Grant for the Arts and Humanities

What the Horse Eats
A chamber opera

Music by PQ Phan
Libretto by Anvi Hoàng and PQ Phan

Saturday, August 21, 7 PM EST

Buskirk-Chumley
Bloomington, Indiana

Livestream

Indiana University
  Jacobs School of Music
              Bloomington

               Supported by
Indiana University New Frontiers Program
       for the Arts and Humanities

What the Horse Eats
             Music by
             PQ Phan

         Libretto by
   Anvi Hoàng & PQ Phan

 Henry Hao-An Cheng, Conductor
     PQ Phan, Stage Director
    Mark F. Smith, Set Designer
    Skylar Delk, Light Designer
 Dana Tzvetkov, Costume Designer
  Shuichi Umeyama, Vocal coach

                                        Buskirk-Chumley
                                     Saturday, August 21
                                            7:00 PM EST

Cast of Characters

Hakida                        Carl DuPont
Hùng                          Brian Arreola
Mai                           Bích Vân Nguyễn
Female villager               Alejandra Martinez
Male villager                 Skyler Schlenker

Soldier                       Subin Bae
The White Horse               Bryce Carson

Synopsis
                             By P.Q. Phan & Anvi Hoàng

Based on a true story, What the Horse Eats portrays a dilemma of honor and
parental love. Code of honor and conduct shapes the way of societal and human
behavior. Yet, parental love often goes beyond the rules thus inadvertently creating
inconceivable circumstances. A life shaped by paradoxes of honor and love
revolves around immense pain and guilt.

It is the year 1945, Hùng’s village in Northern Vietnam faces the same fate as most
part of the country: starvation. Under the rule of the Japanese occupation all food
crops such as rice and sweet potato are replaced by hemp, castor oil seed, and
jute. Food is hard to come by and people eat whatever they find—edible wild
leaves, roots, or insects. A large number of people die of starvation daily.
Approximately three million out of its then population of 20 million people died in
this era. As a reputed horse tender in the region, Hùng is assigned to take care of
the regional commander Hakida’s beloved white horse. Hakida loves his white
horse as his own child and places his honor in the welfare of his horse. To him,
the horse represents bravery, dignity, and loyalty. Hùng tells his wife Mai that he
is shamefully submitted to such an assignment; however, he explains that through
this assignment he can steal a bit of grain from the horse every day to feed their
newborn son. One day, the white horse dies. Hakida dissects the horse and finds
some undigested rice husks in the horse’s stomach. Believing this is the reason
that kills the horse, Hakida puts Hùng on trial in front of the villagers. He then orders
to place Hùng inside the horse’s stomach, sewing him in alive, and pronounces
that “the horse must eat what has eaten what belongs to him.” Mai together with
the villagers are shocked by this action, and their minds are filled with a mixture of
sympathy, anger, and shame.

Scene I: The Horse
As regional commander, Hakida is proud of his motherland’s victories and glories
in the vast region of Asia. His primary concerns are the needs of his motherland,
the welfare of his troops, and the special treatment for his white horse. Hakida
loves his horse as his own child. To him, the horse represents bravery, dignity, and
loyalty. Thus, he provides the horse with great care and best quality food such as
rice grains. He assigns the village’s best horse tender Hùng the ‘honor’ of caring
for his horse. Hùng submits to Hakida.

Scene II: The Child
Hùng’s wife, Mai, just gives birth to a boy. Her body cannot produce enough milk
for the child when she feeds on wild roots she scavenges. Hùng reveals to Mai
that he submits himself to caring for captain Hakida’s horse; however, he explains
that through this job he shall steal a little lump of rice grains from the horse daily
to make food for their newborn. Mai voices her discontentment because it is not
only a dishonorable act but also dangerous. Hùng assures her that all will be fine.
After all, he does whatever it takes for the wellness of their child.

Scene III: The Stealing
Hùng steals a small amount of rice grain from the horse food everyday and
replaces it with palea and lemma (the shell of the rice grain).

Scene IV: The Trial
One day, the horse dies. Hakida is devastated and determined to investigate the
cause of its death. He immediately summons Hùng and all the villagers for a trial.
He orders an autopsy of the horse. He finds a large amount of undigested rice
husks in the horse’s stomach which, he believes, is the fatal cause of death.
Following his code of honor and conduct Hakida demands that Hùng pays
accordingly. Hakida states that “the horse must eat what has eaten what belongs
to him.” And just like that, Hakida orders his guards to place Hùng inside the
horse’s stomach and sew him in, leaving Hùng to be gradually “digested” inside
the horse’s stomach.

Scene V: The Reflections
Once inside the horse’s stomach, Hùng is struggling between voices of shame and
love. While feeling guilty for stealing the rice grains, Hùng does not regret taking
action to save his dying son. In the meantime, Hakida reflects upon his sense of
honor, Mai on love, and the villagers on justice.

Composer / librettist

                P.Q. Phan was born in 1962 in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam. He taught
                himself to play the piano, compose, and orchestrate since 1976
                while studying architecture. In 1982, he immigrated to the United
                States and began his formal musical training. He earned his DMA
                in Composition from the University of Michigan, where he also
                earned a second Master’s degree in Ethnomusicology.
     During his more than 35 years of composing, P.Q. Phan, a Rome Prize
winner, has written more than 100 works which includes two grand operas, a
requiem, more than 10 symphonic works, 6 concertos, 10 works for chamber
orchestra, a large song cycle for mezzo soprano and chamber orchestra, etc.
Phan's music has been performed throughout the globe, including Mexico,
England, France, Austria, Italy, Holland, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Spain,
Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Israel, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
in the most prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, The
Concertgebouw, Tchaikovsky Hall, Theatre de la Ville Paris, Santa Cecilia di
Roma, Teatro Colon, Royal Hall of the Great Britain, Sydney Opera Hall,
Takemitsu Opera Hall, Hà Nội Grand Hall, etc.
     P.Q. Phan is Professor of Music in Composition at Jacobs School of Music,
Indiana University. He had taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
and Cleveland State University.

                                     Librettist

                  Anvi Hoàng grew up in Vietnam. She taught ESL for six years
                  before coming to the U.S. for graduate studies. After a stint in the
                  academy that culminated in an MA degree in American Studies,
                  another one in American History, and still another in Public
                  Health, she found peace in creative writing. Anvi has travelled
                  extensively in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The cultural
observations have made her life all the more fluid. In 2015 she co-founded and
has since managed a non-profit organization, the Vietnamese American Society
for Creative Arts and Music (VASCAM). She has collaborated with her husband,
P.Q. Phan, and become co-lyricist of an art song, Phở, and co-librettist of a
chamber opera, What the Horse Eats. Her debut book, Why Do You Look at Me
and See a Girl?, was released by Guernica Editions in June 2021.

Artistic Staff
Conductor
                 Winner of the Antal Dorati and European Union conducting
                 competition, Henry Cheng has established himself as an
                 internationally acclaimed young Asian-American conductor &
                 composer.
                 In November 2017, Henry Cheng was appointed Chief Conductor
                 and Artistic Director of the Klangkraft Orchester in Duisburg,
Germany. With a “new rich orchestral sound, full of energy and vitality,” he has
secured debuts and re-invitations for the orchestra around the region and will lead
the orchestra on their first international tour in the 2021-2022 season.
           Equally comfortable in contemporary music and opera, Henry has
premiered over 50 new works across mix mediums and ensembles. As an opera
conductor and coach, he has conducted and played in productions of Candide, Die
Fledermaus, Dialogues des Carmélites, La Boheme, Marriage of Figaro, Don
Giovanni and Così fan tutte.
           His guest conducting engagements include Atlanta Ballet, MAV
Symphony Orchestra, Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, Cameristi della Scala,
Budapest Operetta Theater Orchestra, Kodaly Philharmonic, Pori Sinfonietta,
Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra, Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra,
National Moravian-Silesian Opera, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi,
Teatro Carlo Felice, Slovak National Theatre, National Theatre “St. Petersburg
Music Hall”, Extremadura Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow City Symphony -
Russian Philharmonic and the Atlanta Festival Academy Orchestra.
           His musical education includes masterclasses with Riccardo Muti,
Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur, and Tugan Sokhiev in addition to studies at Eastman
School of Music, Georgia State University, Indiana University, and University of
Arts, Berlin.

Set Designer
               A Bloomington, Indiana-based designer and scenic artist, Mark
               Frederic Smith is also the Director of Scenic Painting and
               Properties for the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera
               and Ballet Theater, where he has contributed to over a hundred
               productions during the past 25 years.

Light Designer
                Skylar Delk has been a lighting designer and event technician in
                Bloomington for over 10 years. Mr. Delk has worked with Cardinal
                Stage Company as Master Electrician for 16 productions including
                most recently Newsies '19. Currently Mr. Delk is the Assistant
                Technical Director for the Buskirk Chumley Theater where his work
                as a lighting designer can be seen for the BCT Presents event
series as well as many touring and community-based production.

Costume Designer
                 Dana Tzvetkov designs and constructs costumes for opera,
                 ballet, and theater. Her work has recently been featured in Central
                 City Opera’s Tosca (2016) and Carmen (2017), and the National
                 Opera Association’s Hagar (2016). Her designs have appeared on
                 Indiana University’s Musical Arts Center stage in Saudade,
Carmen, Peter Grimes, and Le Nozze di Figaro. She has designed rentals for Ball
State Opera Theater, Mississippi Opera, DePauw University, and Butler
University. She worked alongside Linda Pisano for Opera San Antonio to build
costumes for a cast including Patricia Racette and Michelle DeYoung. She has
been commissioned to create concert gowns for DeYoung and Sylvia McNair.
Tzvetkov served as the costume shop supervisor for IU Opera and Ballet Theater
from 2013 until recently, when she was promoted to shop manager. She returned
to Central City Opera in summer 2018 to coordinate its production of Il Trovatore.

Vocal Coach
                Born in Tokyo, Japan, Shuichi Umeyama received his Bachelor's
                and Master's degrees from National University of Fine arts and
                Music in Tokyo. He came to the United States to study with
                Hungarian pianist Gyorgy Sebok. Shuichi has been working with
                internationally known vocalists since 1988. He has appeared in
numerous concerts as a soloist or an accompanist throughout the United States
and Japan. He also has served as a coach and an official accompanist for many
opera companies and vocal competitions. He is currently an Assistant Professor
and Opera Coach at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Visiting
Professor of Aichi University for Fine Arts, Japan.

Cast

Hakida
                Carl DuPont is an artist, innovator and educator dedicated to
                Transformational Inclusion in the arts. He has held center stage in
                performances at Opera Columbus, The Glimmerglass Festival,
                Columbus Opera, Opera Carolina, First Coast Opera, Toledo
                Opera, Opera Saratoga, Sarasota Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, El
Palacio de Bellas Artes, Opera Company of Brooklyn, and Leipzig Opera. A
graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, and the University
of Miami, DuPont currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Voice at the
Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. He can be heard on the world
premiere recording of the Caldara Mass in A Major, The Death of Webern, and his
solo album of art songs by Black composers entitled The Reaction.

Hùng
                 Tenor Brian Arreola has been featured with The Minnesota
                 Opera, Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, American Opera Theater,
                 Opera Theatre of St. Louis, New Orleans Opera, Iford Opera (UK),
                 Grachtenfestival (Netherlands) and others. Of his debut with
                 Toledo Opera The Blade enthused, “Tenor Brian Arreola created
a Roméo whose persona churned from petulant adolescent to ardent lover. His
voice was rich, lyric, and particularly expressive in the final death duet.” Arreola
earned his MM and DM at Indiana University, studying voice with Brian Horne and
Andreas Poulimenos, and Opera Workshop with Mark Clark and Carol Vaness. He
is Professor of Voice and Opera Workshop at UNC Charlotte.

Mai
                Singer-actress-songwriter, producer and TV host Bích-
                Vân Nguyễn is one of the most versatile and sought-
                after Vietnamese American artists. She performs in Opera,
                Musical Theater, and stage productions, headlining concerts all
                over the world at prestigious venues such as Kennedy Center,
Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Musco
Center for the Arts, Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Quan Ngua Stadium
(Vietnam), Yoido Church (South Korea) etc. Notable roles: Lead in the World-
Premiere Monodrama “Count To Ten”, “Muse” (Lead) in the Off-Broadway musical
“A World Without Harmony”, Mẹ Mõ and Sùng Bà in “Tale of Lady Thi Kinh”, Tuptim
in “The King and I”, Marian in “The Music Man”, Cathy in “The Last Five Years”,
Cleopatra in “Giulio Cesare”, etc.

Bích-Vân produces/hosts her TV musical show “Gác Nhỏ THE NOOK
Acoustic” while appearing in countless TV/radio interviews/talk shows, including
being a guest coach and celebrity judge on SBTN VOICE.

Female villager
                Hailed as a “major voice,” “consistently rich and beautiful,” and
                capable of “tremendous fervor,” soprano Alejandra
                Villarreal Martinez made her Anchorage Opera debut
                with Frida last February, a reprise of the production she performed
                with Long Beach Opera. Favorite roles include La Contessa (Le
nozze di Figaro), Salud (La vida breve), and Margarita Xirgu (Ainadamar). Concert
credits include Orrego-Salas' Ash Wednesday, Beethoven's Mass in C, and
Penderecki's St. Luke Passion, along with engagements with the Evansville
Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Roger Kalia, most recently
performing Sarah Kirkland Snider's Penelope.

Male villager
                 Skyler Schlenker was raised in the Upper Valley of New
                 Hampshire and Vermont and attended Hanover High School in
                 Hanover, New Hampshire. He is in his first semester as a
                 Performance Diploma candidate in voice, studying with Carol
                 Vaness. Schlenker began pursuing a career in voice performance
after a successful NCAA career as a defensive end at Ithaca College. An avid
athlete, he also competed in several multi-state all-star competitions for football,
and track and field. Since leaving competitive athletics, he has played and covered
many leading roles at the University of Colorado’s Eklund Opera, Aspen Music
Festival and School, and Brevard Music Center. Previous performances outside of
IU include the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Jesus
Christ in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene with composer Mark Adamo, Top in The
Tender Land, Perchik in The Fiddler on the Roof, and Bernardo in West Side Story,
plus a cover of the lead role of Frederik Egerman in A Little Night Music at the
Aspen Music Festival.

The White Horse
                Bryce Carson is a Senior at IU. Hailing from Heltonville, IN,
                Bryce is currently studying Cinema and Film as well as Theatre.

The Soldier
                 Subin Bae graduated from Indiana University in Spring 2021 with
                 a BA in Theatre and Drama. Currently, he is pursuing a career in
                 sound design, special effects, and acting. He has also been a sub-
                 committee chair and committee member of Indiana University
                 Dance Marathon for 3 years. Past works: Giulio Cesare (Actor),
Dialogues of the Carmelites (Actor), and most recently Romeo and Juliet
(Actor/Singer). He is from Bloomington, Indiana.

Supportive staff

Stage manager
                Izel Landa is a Senior at Indiana University Bloomington and is
                pursuing a degree in Theatre Arts with a minor in Arts
                Management. They are the current Chair for the Student Advisory
                Board and President of the Black, Brown, and Beige Theatre
                Troupe. They also work as a stagehand at the Musical Arts
Center. Past works: Shifting Landscapes (SM), Hamlet (ASM), Singing Hoosiers
(SM), and most recently Closer Than Ever (ASM). They’re from Hammond, Indiana

Publicist, Subtitle operator, Image backdrop operator
                   Jamey J Guzman is a composer, librettist, and artist-activist
                   from Sacramento, California. In her music, Jamey explores
                   identity and interpersonal connection, philosophy and humanity,
                   and the unashamed pursuit of wonder. A firm believer in the
                   unmatched power of art to enact social change, she strives to
                   illuminate themes such as female empowerment, racial equity,
climate action, gender and sexuality, and mental health awareness in her work.
Also a devoted performer on flute and piccolo, Jamey is in-demand as a specialist
in contemporary chamber music, frequently premiering and championing new
works; she finds this deep exposure to a myriad of musical styles a core inspiration
in her own music.
          Jamey is currently pursuing studies in composition and flute
performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. In the past year,
Jamey has seen seven premieres from her arias and scenes, was a featured
composer at the N.E.O. Voice Festival in Los Angeles, and received a commission
from New Voices Opera for their 2022 mainstage.

Ensemble

Flute           Tierney McClure
Clarinet        Garrett Nichols
Percussion      Nathan Hurst
Piano           Shuichi Umeyama

Violin I        Jack Bogard
Violin II       Bryson Karrer
Viola           Maeve Whelan
Cello           William Cayanan