Immigration Saga: “Sophia’s Forest” to Grace SF Grace Cathedral

OPERA PARALLÈLE PRESENTS

Sophia’s Forest

Music by Lembit Beecher

Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch

An immigrant family’s story

of hope & the healing

power of imagination.

Performances
  • February 24, 2022 – 8:00pm
  • February 25, 2022 – 8:00pm
  • February 26, 2022 – 5:00pm & 8:00pm
Venue

 

Ferry riders are all too familiar with The Bay’s painful legacy of immigration through the ages, with Angel Island being among the most prominent symbols of that quest.

Sophia’s Forest explores the lasting effects of the immigrant experience on families and the ways children use their imaginations to cope with trauma and find healing. The innovative opera tells the story of a nine-year-old recent immigrant to the U.S. who, through a traumatic journey, escaped the chaos of a civil war in her homeland.

Nine electronically-controlled sound sculptures, designed and operated by composer Lembit Beecher, placed across the stage are a direct outgrowth of Sophia’s memories: bike wheels recall Sophia’s youthful adventures with her sister Emma, and wine glasses become a central part of her mother Anna’s coping once the family moves to America.