MAN: FOR ME, "SWEET LAND" IS A DREAM.

[SINGERS VOCALIZING] IN DREAMS, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY MOVE.

YOU'RE IN ONE PLACE, AND THE WORLD BENDS AND SHIFTS AROUND YOU AND COMES AT YOU.

[ORCHESTRA PLAYING] THERE'S IDEAS THAT CREATE MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS.

WOMAN: ♪ WHAT IS THIS PLACE?

♪ SECOND WOMAN: ♪ THE LORD BLESS YOU ♪ THIRD WOMAN: ♪ AND TO KEEP YOU ♪ FOURTH WOMAN: MOST PEOPLE WOULDN'T THINK THAT YOU CAN HAVE THESE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS IN AN OPERA.

CHORUS: ♪ WE'LL ALWAYS MAKE A PLACE FOR YOU IN OUR SWEET, SWEET LAND ♪ [TRAIN CLATTERING] ANNOUNCER: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY: ANNE RAY FOUNDATION, A MARGARET A. CARGILL PHILANTHROPY; VISION MAKER MEDIA; CITY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS; L.A. COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE; NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS; FREIDA BERLINSKI FOUNDATION; AND THE NATIVE ARTS AND CULTURE FOUNDATION.

[RATTLE SHAKING] [SINGING IN INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE] MAN: "SWEET LAND" ORIGINATED FROM A CONVERSATION THAT I HAD WITH THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BOSTON LYRIC OPERA, WHO IN 2016 WAS TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOME SORT OF OPERATIC PROJECT THAT COULD COMMEMORATE THE 400th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LANDING ON PLYMOUTH ROCK, AND FOR SOME REASON, SHE THOUGHT THAT I MIGHT BE A GOOD PERSON TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS.

I ACTUALLY RESISTED THE IDEA PRETTY CONSIDERABLY AT FIRST, AND I HAD TO THINK ON A BROADER SCALE WHETHER OPERA WAS EVEN THE RIGHT MEDIUM TO BE TALKING ABOUT ALL THE ISSUES RELATED TO PILGRIMS AND NATIVE AMERICANS.

MAN: YUVAL CONTACTED ME.

I WAS VERY SKEPTICAL OF THAT KIND OF PRODUCTION OR TO EVEN RESPOND TO THAT.

FOR ONE, IT'S NOT MY TRIBE.

I MEAN, IT IS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO THAT IS ABOUT, BUT I WAS WONDERING "WHY ME, YOU KNOW?

WHY SHOULD I RESPOND TO THAT?"

BUT I WAS--I WAS WILLING TO CONSIDER WHAT WE COULD DO.

WHAT SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT?

MAN: THE PRODUCTION WAS CENTERED AROUND THIS IDEA OF RETELLING THE FIRST THANKSGIVING.

THAT WAS SORT OF THE SEED IDEA.

IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT DOING.

DUNCAN: IT WAS HIGH-RISK.

KEARNEY: IT WAS HIGH-RISK.

SHARON: AT THE EARLY STAGES OF "SWEET LAND," I DID THINK TO MYSELF THAT "WE'RE THE WRONG PEOPLE TO BE DOING THIS.

THIS IS THE WRONG MEDIUM.

THIS IS-- THIS IS WELL-SERVED FOR DOCUMENTARY.

THIS IS WELL-SERVED FOR HISTORIANS," BUT I THINK I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WHERE DOES OPERA HAVE ITS POWER?

MAN: ♪ SWEET LAND, SWEET LAND THE SWEETEST LAND OF ALL ♪ SHARON: BECAUSE OF THE MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS INHERENT IN WHAT OPERA IS, I THINK IT CAN ACTUALLY REALLY CREATE A NEW LANGUAGE, AND I THINK THAT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THESE REALLY DIFFICULT TOPICS AROUND OUR OWN IDENTITY AND OUR OWN PAST THAT, IN A WAY, THE BEST THING WE CAN TRY AND OFFER THE CONVERSATION IS NEW FORMS OF LOOKING AT IT AND NEW LANGUAGE WITH WHICH TO SPEAK ABOUT IT.

[SINGERS VOCALIZING] AT THE EARLY STAGES WHEN WE WERE FIRST MEETING, THAT'S WHEN I THINK WE REALLY THOUGHT TO OURSELVES, "THIS IS NOT A PIECE THAT'S GOING TO WORK INSIDE."

WE STARTED THINKING ABOUT WHAT PARTICULAR SITES IN LOS ANGELES WOULD HAVE THIS SORT OF CONNECTION TO L.A.'s INDIGENOUS ROOTS, AND OF COURSE THE ANSWER TO THAT IS BASICALLY EVERYWHERE, EVEN THE PLACE WE'RE SITTING IN NOW.

CARMELO: IT'S ALL NATIVE LAND TO US, SPECIFICALLY FOR MY ANCESTORS, THE TONGVA PEOPLE.

WE TRULY ARE A SOVEREIGN NATION.

WE HAVE NEVER CEDED OUR LANDS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.

ALL OF THE VILLAGES THAT EXISTED TO US, WE STILL HONOR THEM.

SHARON: THE L.A. STATE HISTORIC PARK HAS A PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TONGVA VILLAGE YAANGA.

CARMELO: SO YAANGA WAS A PLACE OF INFLUENCE, IT WAS A PLACE OF PROSPERITY, IT WAS A PLACE OF A LOT OF HUSTLE AND BUSTLE JUST AS IT IS TODAY.

THE SPANISH INVADERS CAME IN, AND THEY SAW THAT IT WAS RIGHT BY THE PAAYME PAXAAYT, WHICH IS THE LOS ANGELES RIVER, AND THEY SAW THAT IT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO BRING THEIR ZANJA MADRE, WHICH IS THE MOTHER DITCH, WHICH WAS LARGELY BUILT WITH INDIGENOUS LABOR, AND THAT WAS THE FIRST MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM FOR LOS ANGELES.

FURTHER, IT ALSO BECAME ONE OF THE ROUTES OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD, AND THAT BROUGHT IN EVERYBODY FROM ALL DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE UNITED STATES AND BEYOND, AND THAT IS WHY WE CURRENTLY HAVE LOS ANGELES AS WE KNOW IT TODAY BUT STARTING WITH THE TONGVA PEOPLE.

SHARON: BECAUSE OF THE NOTION OF THE STORIES THAT WE WERE TELLING, BECAUSE OF THE LAYERS OF HISTORY, IT FELT LIKE THE PERFECT CONVERSATION PARTNER FOR EXACTLY WHAT THE--WHAT THE OPERA NEEDED TO MAKE SURE IT FELT ROOTED AND DID NOT JUST FEEL LIKE WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS GOING TO BE AN ARTISTIC EXERCISE THAT DOESN'T REALLY GRAPPLE WITH THESE ISSUES IN ANY HARD-HITTING.

WAY.

WE DIDN'T WANT TO LET THE AUDIENCE OFF THE HOOK, AND THE MAIN WAY TO DO THAT WOULD BE TO INVITE THEM INTO A DIRECT EXPERIENCE OF THE LAND ITSELF.

CARMELO: IT'S A PLACE THAT HAS ITS OWN SONG, AND IT'S ALLOWED TO BE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS OPERA.

THE AUDIENCES WHEN THEY COME, THEY GET TO REFLECT ON THAT.

MAN: IT'S ALL PART OF THE SHOW.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER] MAN: "SWEET LAND" BEGINS THE MOMENT YOU DECIDE TO COME TO "SWEET LAND."

200 AUDIENCE MEMBERS WILL BE SITTING AT A FACADE OF A THEATER AND WILL EXPERIENCE THE INITIAL CONTACT.

[WOMAN VOCALIZING] SHARON: EVERYONE'S GONNA SEE THIS MYTHIC SCENE OF AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN TWO GROUPS, A HOST AND ARRIVAL.

IT'S A DECISIVE MOMENT, AND IT'S ALSO AN ELEMENTAL ONE.

IT'S THE SHIP RUNNING AGROUND ON A LAND.

CHORUS: ♪ WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE... ♪ AT THAT POINT, THE AUDIENCE SPLITS.

HALF THE AUDIENCE WILL EXPERIENCE A SCENE CALLED "FEAST."

THE OTHER HALF OF THE AUDIENCE WILL EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT SCENE IN A DIFFERENT PART OF WHERE WE'RE DOING THIS PERFORMANCE CALLED "TRAIN."

[VIOLIN PLAYING ATONAL MUSIC] ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE STARTED WITH WAS ERASURE.

THERE'S A KIND OF A BEFORE-AND-AFTER EXPERIENCE OF CERTAIN SCENES.

MAN: THE FIRST TIME YOU GO TO "TRAIN" AND "FEAST," YOU EXPERIENCE AN HONEST TELLING OF IT.

IT'S NOT THE TRUTH.

WE CAN'T KNOW THE TRUTH.

ALL WE CAN KNOW IS, LIKE, WHAT HAPPENS WITH THESE TWO PARADIGMS WHEN THEY ENGAGE IN THESE PLACES.

SHARON: AND THE AUDIENCE IS USHERED OUT.

YOU COME BACK, AND EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED, AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW, AND YOU ALSO ARE BEING TOLD A BRAND-NEW STORY.

MAN: THE STORY NOW IS THE STORY THAT WE'VE ALL HEARD AND EXPERIENCED THROUGH HISTORY BOOKS AND NARRATIVES, NARRATIVES WHERE TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS, YOU KNOW.

IF YOU CAN TELL THE STORY, YOU CAN EMBELLISH IT AND CHANGE IT ANY WHICH WAY YOU WANT.

[WOMAN VOCALIZING] MAN: ♪ ANOTHER CYCLE OF RECIPROCITY ♪ KEARNEY: THE NAME "SWEET LAND" COMES FROM THE SONG "MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE."

♪ MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY ♪ SO "SWEET LAND" OPERATES IN THIS SORT OF SPACE WHERE IT'S AN ALLUSION TO AN IDEA OF THE UNITED STATES.

[ORCHESTRA PLAYING] WE KIND OF WERE RIFFING ON ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH A NATION BUILDING PROCESS, A NATION-BUILDING PROJECT IS ALWAYS ABOUT A SORT OF SELF-MYTHOLOGIZATION.

CHACON: IF WE'RE CONSIDERING THAT THESE EARLY ENCOUNTERS ARE NOT ACCURATELY TOLD, THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS CREATIVE PEOPLE TO MAKE UP NEW MYTHOLOGIES, NEW CREATION STORIES.

MAN: ♪ AH AH AH AH ♪ WOMAN: "SWEET LAND" ORIGINATED AS AN AMERICAN STORY, BUT I THINK MORE THAN THAT "SWEET LAND" IS A NOW STORY.

MAN: IT'S REALLY JUST LOOKING AT DIFFERENT POWER STRUCTURES AND THE COLLISION OF PARADIGMS AND WHAT HAS BEEN REDACTED FROM OUR HISTORY AND OUR EXPERIENCE AS PARTICIPANTS IN A WORLD THAT HAS BEEN DOMINATED.

[DRUMS PLAYING] ANY COLONIZING COUNTRY THAT HAS ENGAGED IN EITHER SETTLER COLONIALISM OR EXTRACTIVE COLONIALISM ARE TELLING THESE STORIES AND HAVEN'T EVER SHOWN US THE REDACTED STATEMENT OF THE EXPERIENCE.

THEY EVEN UNDERMINED THEIR OWN SUFFERING IN THESE STORIES, IN THE RETELLING OF A STORIES.

THEY'VE DEVELOPED A MYTH THAT IS THEIR HISTORY, AND SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO DEVELOP MORE AND MORE MYTH TO STACK ON TOP OF THAT TO CREATE SOMETHING CONTRARY TO OUR--OUR LEARNED EXPERIENCE AND REINFORCE THE IDEA THAT WHAT WE KNOW AS HISTORY IS ILLUSION.

[WOMEN SINGING OVERLAPPING MELODIES] WOMAN: MOST PEOPLE THINK OF OPERA ONE WAY, VERY EUROCENTRIC, VERY AUSTERE, YOU KNOW.

SHARON: I THINK WE HAVE TO FACE IT.

OPERA CAN FEEL LIKE A VERY COLONIALIST ART FORM, ESPECIALLY HERE IN AMERICA.

MOST OF THE WORKS PERFORMED HERE ARE PREDOMINANTLY ITALIAN, GERMAN, AND FRENCH.

I THINK PEOPLE IMAGINE THAT IT IS THIS HIERARCHICAL AND IMPERIAL TYPE ART FORM WHERE IT'S ALL ABOUT A SOLE POINT OF VIEW OR A SOLE VISION, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT TRADITIONAL OPERATIC THEATERS, THEY REINFORCE THAT NOTION BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE HIERARCHICAL BALCONIES WITH--YOU KNOW, WITH PEOPLE KIND OF IN DIFFERENT LEVELS ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP, AND THE REALLY THE ONE PRIVILEGED PERSPECTIVE WAS RESERVED FOR THE KING.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU CREATE OPERAS THAT WAY, YOU REINFORCE SOCIAL IDEAS, YOU REINFORCE POLITICAL IDEAS, AND YOUR REINFORCE THE IDEA THAT THIS IS HOW THE SOCIETY WE LIVE IN SHOULD BE ORGANIZED.

WOMAN: ♪ COME ON ♪ I'M CLASSICALLY TRAINED, AND I FIND THAT A LOT OF THE TRADITIONAL OPERAS ARE OBVIOUSLY EUROCENTRIC.

I REALLY DIDN'T SEE MYSELF DOING LARGE-SCALE OPERAS BECAUSE I THOUGHT, "OH, WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO SPACE FOR THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOUNDS."

WASHINGTON: YES, THERE IS A LOT OF CLASSICAL SINGING, AND, YES, THERE'S A LOT OF CLASSICAL SOUNDS, BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

[SINGING IN INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE] HA HA HA!

HOW'S THAT FOR OPERA?

HA HA HA!

[VOCALIZING] SHARON: THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS IN WHICH WE BASICALLY TRIED TO COMPLETELY DECONSTRUCT ANY NOTION OF HIERARCHY WITH THIS.

CERTAINLY, ONE REALLY EASY WAY IS THE FACT THAT THERE'S TWO OF EACH OF US.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S TWO DIRECTORS.

THERE ARE TWO COMPOSERS, TWO WRITERS, TWO SET DESIGNERS.

THERE'S THAT SENSE THAT NO ONE PERSON CAN DO THIS BY THEMSELVES, THAT NO ONE PERSON HAS THE PRIVILEGED PERSPECTIVE OF SAYING, "HISTORY IS THE WAY THAT I SEE IT AND ONLY THE WAY THAT I SEE IT."

MAN: WE HAVE 3 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ON THE ARTISTIC TEAM.

I AM MANDAN, HIDATSA, ARIKARA, AND LAKOTA.

I'M NORTHERN PLAINS.

I'M, LIKE, RIVER PEOPLE FROM UP THAT WAY.

RAVEN CHACON, THE COMPOSER, IS DENE AND IS FROM THE SOUTHWEST, AND AJA COUCHOIS DUNCAN IS OJIBWE FROM, LIKE, AROUND THE GREAT LAKES REGION.

OUR ENVIRONMENTS HAVE TRANSFORMED OUR CULTURES SO COMPLETELY THAT WE BRING DIVERSITY EVEN UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF NATIVE AMERICAN.

OUR CULTURES ARE SO VASTLY DIFFERENT.

WE ALL SPEAK TOTALLY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, OUR CULTURAL PRACTICES ARE DIFFERENT, AND SO WHEN YOU START TELLING STORIES AROUND AN INDIGENOUS/NON-INDIGENOUS NARRATIVE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU REMEMBER HOW DIFFERENT EACH OF US ARE.

WE NEEDED TO DEVELOP COMPLEXITY UNDER SOME OF THESE UMBRELLAS, YOU KNOW, AND SO WORKING WITH DOUGLAS AND YUVAL AND DU YUN, EVERYBODY'S COMING TOGETHER TO BRING THEIR BIT OF EXPERIENCE.

IT'S A CORE GROUP THAT'S GOING TO TRY TO EXPRESS TO THE LARGEST AUDIENCE.

THIS STORY HAS HIT ALMOST EVERY SHORE IN THE GLOBE, AND WE'RE STUCK ASKING THE QUESTION "WHO GETS TO TELL THIS STORY?"

WHEN WHAT ACTUALLY HAS TO HAPPEN IS SOMEBODY BETTER START TELLING THIS STORY.

SHARON: FROM THE BEGINNING, I THOUGHT THE INDUSTRY--IF WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND MAKE OPERA AS ACCESSIBLE AS POSSIBLE, AS DEMOCRATIC AS POSSIBLE IN TERMS OF NOT JUST THE CREATION BUT ALSO THE PARTICIPATION OF THE AUDIENCE, THEN WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS HIERARCHICAL ARCHITECTURE.

WOMAN: I THINK NATURALLY, TOO, WHEN YOU'RE OUT HERE AND YOU SEE ALL THIS ORGANIC MATERIAL, THE SPACES VERY EARLY ON WERE DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD BE CIRCULAR.

SHARON: THIS...YEAH.

LUGER: IS THIS SET UP CARDINALLY?

ORELLANA: I THINK IT SHOULD BE.

SHARON: YEAH.

THE TUNNEL IS COMING IN HERE, RIGHT?

SO THAT'S NORTH.

THE LUGER: THE TUNNEL IS NORTH?

SHARON: YEAH.

LIKE, WHEN PEOPLE WALK IN, THEY WALK IN FROM NORTH.

LUGER: YEAH.

OK. SHARON: WHERE'S THE ORCHESTRA?

ORELLANA: UM... SHARON: IS IT OVER HERE?

ORELLANA: THE ORCHESTRA THEN IS HERE.

SHARON: IS THERE.

OK. MAN: IT'S SUCH A HUGE PROJECT.

YOU KNOW, IT'S SO IMMERSIVE, AND THERE ARE THESE ARCHITECTURAL SPACES.

ORELLANA: WE REALLY WANTED THE SETS TO ALL HAVE SORT OF A LARGE GESTURE TO THEM.

MAN: ♪ WE ARE NASCENT BODIES ♪ SHARON: WE NEEDED TO CONSTRUCT THESE PIECES BASED ON THE IDEA THAT WE COULDN'T STAKE INTO THE GROUND VERY DEEPLY.

WE COULD ONLY GO, I THINK, TWO FEET INTO THE GROUND TO PROTECT ANY ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS THAT ARE STILL HERE.

SO THAT GOT US THINKING ABOUT HOW IT CAN BE A STRUCTURE THAT ACTUALLY CAN REALLY JUST SIT ON THE GROUND, AND I THINK THAT THAT REALLY WORKS IN THE SENSE OF IT BEING THIS TEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE ON THIS TEMPORARY TRACE ON THE LAND--ON THE LAND ITSELF, BUT THAT HAS MEANT WE'VE HAD TO COME UP WITH SOME REALLY CREATIVE ENGINEERING CHALLENGES TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT CAN WORK.

[ORCHESTRA WARMING UP] WOMAN: FOR "FEAST" WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE ROOM AND YOU SEE THIS BEAUTIFUL BANQUET AND YOU SEE THE DIRT AND THE MUD ON THE ON YOUR FEET AND IT'S COLD, YOU'RE CHALLENGING THE AUDIENCE TO BECOME PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL, NOT JUST A SPECTATOR.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER] LUGER: IN "FEAST," THE ARRIVALS JUST GOT OFF OF A SHIP THAT THEY HAD BEEN ON FOR AT LEAST 66 DAYS.

THEY'RE TIRED, THEY'RE HUNGRY, AND THEY ARE NOT BRINGING TO THIS NEW WORLD A CIVILIZATION AND A GOLDEN SOLUTION.

THEY'RE STARVING TO DEATH, AND THEY NEED HELP.

SHARON: THE "FEAST" SPACE IS CIRCULAR, AND YOU ARE INVITED TO SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE PERFORMERS, AND WE SEE IN THIS FIRST SCENE THIS RITUAL MEAL THAT THE ARRIVALS ARE INVITED TO SHARE.

MAN: ♪ MY FAMILY THANKS YOU FOR COMING TO THIS FEAST MY PEOPLE THANK YOU FOR SHARING WHAT WE EAT MORE THAN FOOD WE HAVE TO SHARE SOMETHING FOR YOUR SPIRITS TO EAT MY DAUGHTER MAKWA DANCES THE UNSEEN WORLD ALIVE ♪ MAKWA: ♪ AH AH AH AH ♪ HAHN: MAKWA IS REALLY THE LEADER OF HER FAMILY, AND I PRESENT THE SPIRIT TO ALL OF OUR GUESTS.

I BRING THE COYOTE... [COYOTE VOCALIZING] LUGER: BUT I THINK YOU UNDERSTAND COYOTE NOT AS JUST AN ANIMAL BUT AS THIS TRICKSTER ENTITY, THIS, LIKE--YOU KNOW AS A FORCE.

COYOTE IS A FORCE TO YOU, YOU KNOW, SO SOME SORT OF SENSE OF REVERENCE AND--AND THAT IT'S REALLY SPECIAL THAT COYOTE'S HERE.

[COYOTE VOCALIZING] [MAN SINGING INDISTINCTLY] LUGER: I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I COULD HAVE AN INTEREST IN OPERA.

YOU KNOW, LIKE, IT WAS SO FAR OUT OF MY SCOPE THAT I NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED.

I ACTUALLY CAME ON TO THE OPERA AS A COSTUME DESIGNER.

ABOUT A WEEK AFTER BRINGING ME ON, YUVAL WAS LIKE, "I THINK THAT I WANT TO ASK YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CO-DIRECTOR," AND I WAS LIKE, "I DON'T KNOW.

I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT OPERA," BUT HE AND I HAD GOOD RAPPORT, SO HE WAS LIKE, "THIS IS--THIS IS WHAT CO-DIRECTION WILL LOOK LIKE, YOU KNOW," SO I SAID YES.

[HARPSICORD PLAYING] MAN: ♪ YOUR GENEROSITY IS WELCOME ♪ SHARON: LAST TIME THAT WE SPOKE ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO JIMMY GIN, I THINK WE SAID THAT YOU GUYS ALL LOOK AT JIMMY GIN AS A KIND OF--LIKE, HE'S YOUR HERO, AND I WOULD LIKE TO TRY SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT IN "FEAST 2" HE IS LIKE YOUR HERO/SAVIOR, BUT IN "FEAST 1," HE'S ACTUALLY KIND OF ONE OF THE RIFFRAFF THAT--THAT SOME OF YOU THINK ARE BELOW YOU.

MAN: WE TALKED ABOUT IN REHEARSALS HE'S KIND OF LIKE THE DRUNK PERSON THAT GETS UP AT A WEDDING TO GIVE A SPEECH AND IS MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST PERSON TO BE TAKING THE FLOOR.

♪ THIS LAND AS THEIR OWN ♪ SHARON: HE SEES MY MAKWA, AND EVEN JUST THE SIGHT OF HER FILLS HIM WITH THIS IDEA OF POTENTIAL CONQUEST IN EVERY SINGLE WAY.

BELLUZ: JIMMY SORT OF IMMEDIATELY BRINGS INTO THE WORLD THIS IDEA OF--OF COLONIALISM, OF EUROPE, OF WHITENESS.

JIMMY GIN: ♪ YOUR GENEROSITY IS WELCOME AS IS THE LAND ON WHICH WE STAND BUT YOUR GENEROSITY HAS GONE TO THE FATE OF BETTER MEN ♪ HAHN: HE IS A COUNTERTENOR, WHICH I THINK IS SUCH A NICE CONTRADICTION TO THE MESSAGE HE'S PORTRAYING AS THIS VERY MANLY--ERR--KIND OF GUY, AND HE SINGS IN A VERY HIGH REGISTER, WHICH I THINK IS A REALLY PLAYFUL JUXTAPOSITION.

JIMMY GIN: ♪ I PICKED THIS FLOWER AS PAYMENT FOR YOUR FUTURE GROOM ♪ HAHN: AND I REACT VERY STRONGLY BECAUSE I AM NO ONE'S PROPERTY, LET ALONE THIS STRANGER.

MAKWA: ♪ I WOULD NO MORE BE WITH YOU THAN WELCOME AN INVASION OF MAGGOTS INTO MY CHE-EH-EH-EST ♪ SHARON: I WONDER IF IT ENDS WITH JIMMY GIN ON THE FLOOR, AND SHE'S, LIKE, GOT THE KNIFE ABOVE HIM, AND EVERYONE--THE ARRIVALS ALL RUN OUT.

KELCI, I THINK YOU SHOULD CHASE HIM.

HAHN: OH, OK. LUGER: AND I THINK YOU SHOULD RUN AWAY.

SHARON: AND YOU SHOULD RUN AWAY SCARED.

HAHN: SO I IMMEDIATELY SWITCH GEARS, AND HE BECOMES SOMEBODY WHO IS A THREAT.

HE'S A THREAT TO ME AS A WOMAN.

HE'S A THREAT TO ME AND MY FAMILY.

HE'S A THREAT TO THE LAND AND THE FUTURE OF MY HERITAGE, AND IT JUST ESCALATES UNTIL IT TURNS INTO A FULL-ON BRAWL, AND I PRESUMABLY TRY TO KILL JIMMY GIN... [COYOTE VOCALIZING] JIMMY GIN: ♪ YOUR WAY OF LIFE MUST END ♪ SHARON: BUT RIGHT BEFORE SHE KILLS HIM, THE WHOLE SCENE FREEZES.

[ORCHESTRA PLAYING DRONE] TOBIN: SO "CROSSROADS" IS THE SECTION OF THE OPERA WHERE THE ERASURE ACTUALLY HAPPENS, AND IT'S PURPOSELY ABSTRACT.

[SINGERS VOCALIZING] SHARON: FOR ME, ONE OF THE POWERFUL EXPERIENCES WAS LEAVING "FEAST" AND COMING OUT AND SEEING DOWNTOWN.

AS YOU WALK OUT TO THAT AREA OF THE PARK WHERE "CROSSROADS" HAPPENED, YOU SUDDENLY SAW ALL OF THE SKYLINE OF LOS ANGELES, AND IT FEELS LIKE--IT FEELS SO JARRING AFTER THIS WARM, COZY ENVIRONMENT OF "FEAST."

[MUSIC CONTINUES] I THINK PART OF THAT POWER WAS TO NOT SHOW THAT CHANGE HAPPENING, TO HAVE THE AUDIENCE LEAVE THE SPACE AND COME BACK TO A TOTALLY DIFFERENT REALITY AS IF WE'RE JUST BEING GASLIT AS TO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.

TO US, IT SEEMS SO IMPORTANT TO BRING THE AUDIENCE VISCERALLY AND EMOTIONALLY AND POWERFULLY INTO WHAT ERASURE ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE, SAYING, "I WAS IN THIS SPACE.

I SAW THIS THING HAPPEN, AND NOW I'M BEING SOLD A DIFFERENT TAKE ON IT."

[MUSIC CONTINUES] WOMAN: "FEAST" HAS A RELATIONSHIP IN LIGHTING BETWEEN AN ORGANIC FEELING AND THE ARTIFICIAL.

THE INTENT IS TO HAVE, LIKE, A SENSE OF INTIMACY.

SO THERE ARE ABOUT 700 FLICKERING CANDLES, AND THEN WHEN YOU COME BACK IN "FEAST 2," IT BECOMES MUCH MORE ARCHITECTURAL AND MODERN, SO I PICK LIGHTING INSTRUMENTS AND QUALITY THAT HIGHLIGHT THAT IDEA.

[CUTLERY CLATTERING ON DISHES] HAHN: IN "FEAST 1," YOU SEE BOUNTY, YOU SEE LIFE, YOU SEE COLOR.

THERE'S APPLES, THERE'S FIRE, THERE ARE--EVERYBODY'S COSTUMES ARE COLORFUL.

THERE'S JUST A VIBRANCY, AND THEN ERASURE IS SO CLEARLY THE DICHOTOMY WHEN YOU SEE "FEAST 2" BECAUSE THERE'S NO COLOR.

[ORCHESTRA PLAYING SLOW, OMINOUS MUSIC] WOMAN: ♪ DEAR, DEAR RIGHT THERE IS WHERE YOU'LL STAND OUR BLESSED BRIDE ♪ CHORUS: ♪ OUR BLESSED BRIDE ♪ HAHN: I THINK WE PRETTY MUCH SEE JUST THE DOMINATION OF THE OTHER CULTURE ON OURS, AND I WAKE UP, AND I SEE THAT NOTHING IS THE SAME.

IT'S--THERE'S NO COLOR, THERE'S NO LIFE, THERE'S NO HEART.

THERE'S JUST PAIN AND EMPTINESS.

I SEE MY FAMILY IS ALL DEAD.

I'M VERY CONFUSED AND VERY DISORIENTED.

MAKWA: ♪ WHERE IS MY FAMILY?

THEY WERE BY MY SIDE WHERE ARE MY PEOPLE?

♪ CHORUS: ♪ YOU'LL GET A RING A PRETTY RING ♪ HAHN: THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TEXTURES IN THE MUSIC IN "FEAST 1," AND IT REALLY PARES BACK INTO "FEAST 2."

IT BECOMES A LOT MORE ABOUT THE VOICE.

THERE'S A LOT MORE VOCAL KIND OF PLAY.

WOMAN: ♪ BLOOD UPON AN APPLE OR KETCHUP ON A CHERRY ♪ WOMAN: WINDIGO IN "SWEET LAND," I'M THIS, LIKE, HUNGRY, NEVER-SATISFIED GHOST CHARACTER.

THERE ARE HUNGRY GHOSTS IN MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES.

WINDIGO, LIKE THE CHINESE HUNGRY GHOST, IS THIS BEING THAT IS BORN OUT OF VIOLENCE AND GREED AND EATS BABIES AND PEOPLE, AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH HE EATS IS NEVER SATISFIED.

MAN: ♪ THEY ARE N-N-N-NOW ♪ TOBIN: IN THE SHOW, WE USE A LOT OF DIFFERENT VOCAL TECHNIQUES, NOT JUST TRADITIONAL OPERATIC SINGING BUT EXTENDED TECHNIQUES THAT INCLUDE LIKE ULULATION, HOWLS, YELLS, HEIGHTENED SPEECH, WHISTLE TONES, INHALED SINGING, VOCAL FRY, ALL OF THAT GOOD STUFF.

COYOTE: ♪ AN APPETITE CAN BITE YOU BACK FOR THE ONE WHO OUTGROWS THE SPIRIT ♪ CHACON: SOMETIMES, THERE'S A LOT OF CONTRAST AND A LOT OF CLASHING, BUT SONICALLY, IT WORKS.

WOMAN: ♪ MOUTH IS A HOLE IN HIS BELLY IS IT THE S-S-S-SAME WHERE YOU'RE FROM?

♪ [HOWLING] KIM: WINDIGO IS ALL GENDERS, AND SO I'M PLAYING WITH, LIKE... ♪ HIGH ♪ LIKE, FEMALE, LIKE--LIKE HIGH SOUNDS.

YOUNG SOUNDS, OLD SOUNDS, GROWLS, LIKE, KIND OF LIKE MASCULINE, FEMININE.

WINDIGO: ♪ GETTING READY FOR TOMORROW ♪ KIM: A LOT OF GROWLING, A LOT OF SHRIEKING.

HAHN: A LOT OF THE TIMES, THE COMPOSERS WERE, LIKE, "WELL, JUST TRY SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING, LIKE," AND THEY'LL WRITE IN, LIKE, "WAIL," WITH THIS SYMBOL AND THEN A THIS SYMBOL AND THEN A THIS SYMBOL, AND I'M LIKE, "ALL RIGHT."

THIS SOUNDS LIKE... [ULULATING] THAT KIND OF STUFF, I GUESS, AND THEN WE'LL SEE, LIKE, A THIS SYMBOL, AND IT'S LIKE A... ♪ AHH AHH AHH AHH ♪ I DON'T KNOW.

I AM A CLASSICAL MUSICIAN, CHORAL MUSICIAN.

I'M A VERY STRAIGHT-LACED KIND OF TYPE-A LADY, SO IT WAS REALLY TOUGH BREAKING OUT OF THAT MOLD AND SEEING SHEET MUSIC AND ALWAYS BEING LIKE, "WELL, THIS IS WHAT'S ON THE PAGE."

YOU'RE LIKE, "YEAH, WELL, SCREW WHAT'S ON THE PAGE.

DO WHAT YOU WANT," AND I'M LIKE, "OH, MY GOD."

[DIGITAL PERCUSSION PLAYING] CHACON: IT DEFINITELY WAS A CHALLENGE, AND KNOWING THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE WAS ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED TO DO THE PROJECT.

WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING WITH THIS PIECE FOR ME IS IT BECAME AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIMENT.

WRITING MUSIC FOR STORIES IS NOT SOMETHING THAT I DO NORMALLY.

YUN: WORKING WITH THE RAVEN IS SO GREAT BECAUSE WE DECIDED THAT WE DO NOT WANT TO HAVE A CLEAN CUT OF, "OK.

THIS IS YOU, AND THIS IS ME," AND WE ALSO DECIDED THAT WE WILL SWAP THE SCENES WITH EACH OTHER SO THAT THE AUDIENCE DON'T JUST GET THE DU YUN TRACK OR THE RAVEN TRACK.

CHACON: I WOULD WRITE ONE MEASURE, AND SHE WOULD WRITE THE NEXT MEASURE.

MAYBE WE'D BOTH WRITE A MEASURE OF MUSIC TOGETHER.

MAYBE THERE'S A SECTION WHERE I FILLED IN THE ORCHESTRATION AND SHE WROTE FOR THE VOICE AND VICE-VERSA.

MAN: O-UH-UH-NE, TWO-O-O, THR-E-E-E. [CHORUS VOCALIZING] YEAH.

NOW A LITTLE LONGER.

JUST A LITTLE LONGER.

TWO-O-O-O THREE.

[CHORUS VOCALIZING] YEAH.

ONE-E AND A TWO-E AND A THREE-E AND A.

[VOCALIZING] YES.

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

WOMAN: MUCH BETTER.

MAN: GOOD, GOOD, GOOD.

NOW LET'S GET INTO IT FROM THE FIRST 5/4.

[PIANO PLAYING] 2, 3, 4, 5.

1, 2, 3... [CHORUS VOCALIZING] YES.

YES.

MUCH CLEAR--MUCH CLEARER.

CHACON: THERE'S BEEN SOME RULES WE PUT UPON OURSELVES TO BEGIN WITH.

WE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO QUOTE ANY EXISTING TRIBAL MUSIC.

WE DIDN'T WANT TO REFERENCE ANY SPECIFIC PEOPLE OR EVEN REGION, NOR DID WE WANT TO MAKE ANY KIND OF PANINDIGENOUS MUSIC.

THE SAME GOES FOR THE CHARACTERS WE'RE CALLING THE ARRIVALS.

THE ONLY INFORMATION WE HAVE IS THAT THEY COME FROM SOMEWHERE THAT ISN'T THIS LAND.

[DRONE AND HIGH BELLS PLAYING] WASHINGTON: MUSIC IS VERY POWERFUL.

IT HAS A VERY STRONG EFFECT ON PEOPLE'S MENTAL STATE.

IT HAS A VERY STRONG EFFECT ON PEOPLE'S PHYSICALITY, SO WHY NOT HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS IN MUSIC?

TOBIN: I THINK OPERA IN PARTICULAR WITH THE KIND OF VISCERAL POWER OF THE HUMAN VOICE LENDS ITSELF COMPLETELY TO THIS TYPE OF STORY BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PORTRAY HERE, AND SO TO HAVE IT BE IMMERSIVE ON TOP OF THAT AND HAVE IT BE THIS GRAND ART FORM THAT ENCOMPASSES ALL THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERFORMANCE, I THINK, THERE COULD BE NO OTHER WAY TO REALLY TELL THIS STORY.

SHARON: BUT PART OF THE OTHER ASPECT THAT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO CORRECT FROM OUR PRACTICE AS A COMPANY IS THINKING ABOUT WHO IS WRITING THESE OPERAS, WHO IS PERFORMING IN THESE OPERAS, AND WHO ARE THESE OPERAS FOR?

TOBIN: FOR ME, THE STORY IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT DECENTERS WHITENESS, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE OF COLOR, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF NATIVE AMERICANS, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT--THERE'S REAL DYNAMICS OF COLONIALISM AND HOW THEY STILL EXIST TODAY.

YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED IN ANOTHER PIECE LIKE THIS THAT ALSO INVOLVES SO MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR.

WASHINGTON: EVERYBODY'S VOICE IS IMPORTANT, AND EVERYBODY'S VOICE AND PERSPECTIVE IS BEING HEARD.

[TRAIN RUMBLING] [POUNDING] MAKWA: ♪ I FEEL SHAME FOR WHAT CAME BEFORE THE FEAST WE SET FOR YOU AND YOUR FOLK MY MEMORY IS SMOTHERED UNDER HEAVY SMOKE ♪ BELLUZ: "FEAST 2" FOR JIMMY IS HE'S REALLY ARRIVING, YOU KNOW, FOR--FOR HIS WEDDING DAY.

KEARNEY: IT'S A WEDDING DINNER.

IT'S JUST THAT THE BRIDE HASN'T SAID YES AND DOESN'T KNOW SHE'S ABOUT TO GET MARRIED.

HAHN: YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE PARALYZED AND YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING, BUT YOU'RE SCREAMING ON THE INSIDE, JUST HOPING THAT SOMEONE CAN SEE YOUR INNER TURMOIL BUT ON THE OUTSIDE YOU SEE NOTHING?

THAT'S WHAT "FEAST 2" WAS LIKE FOR ME.

SHARON: BUT SHE TRIES TO REENACT MOMENTS FROM "FEAST 1," MOST POWERFULLY WHEN SHE TRIES TO ATTACK JIMMY GIN WITH THE SAME KNIFE, WITH THE SAME EXACT GESTURE THAT ENDS "FEAST 1," WITH LIFTING THIS KNIFE AND ABOUT TO COME CRASHING DOWN ON HIM, YOU KNOW.

INSTEAD, JIMMY GIN VERY EASILY DISARMS HER, VERY EASILY JUST GRABS HER BY THE HAND AND TAKES THE KNIFE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S RIDICULOUSLY SIMPLE FOR HIM BECAUSE NOW HE'S IN CHARGE OF THE STORY.

CHORUS: ♪ KNIFE, KNIFE, KNIFE ♪ MAKWA: ♪ I KNOW YOU YOU WERE THE ONE ♪ JIMMY GIN: ♪ THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HOLD YOU TILL TOMORROW ♪ [CHORUS SINGING IN INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE] SHARON: I'D WORKED WITH DOUGLAS KEARNEY BEFORE.

HE ACTUALLY WROTE THE LIBRETTO FOR THE VERY FIRST OPERA THAT THE INDUSTRY EVER GOT PRODUCED, WHICH WAS ANNE LeBARON'S OPERA "CRESCENT CITY."

KEARNEY: WHAT IS WOOD TO WATER?

WHAT WOULD WADE IN THE WATER?

SOMEONE BRING THE RIVER.

SHARON: HE ALSO HAS SPENT SO MUCH TIME THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE AND ITS ROLE IN SHAPING IDENTITY.

KEARNEY: WE ARE THE SOUL OF THE OPERA.

WE LIBRETTIZE.

WE LIBBRETATE.

WE WRITE THE WORDS FOR THE OPERA AND ALSO DO A BIT WITH STORY.

DUNCAN: YEAH.

I LIKED HOW YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT US AS STORY BEARERS.

KEARNEY: YEAH.

DUNCAN: I'VE WRITTEN SCREENPLAYS AND PLAYS, MONOLOGUES, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT I HAVEN'T DONE THE JUXTAPOSITION OF CHARACTER AND MUSIC.

AND BECAUSE YOU HAD HAD EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, DOING OPERA AND WRITING LIBRETTOS BEFORE, I THINK, THAT GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS REALLY HELPED ME UNDERSTAND, YEAH, WHAT WAS REALLY POSSIBLE OR WOULD BE INTERESTING OR WOULD REALLY SUPPORT THE GENRE OF OPERA.

KEARNEY: AT FIRST, WE WERE STILL GOING TO BE WORKING WITH THIS KIND OF TWO-TRACK IDEA.

DUNCAN: RIGHT.

YEAH.

KEARNEY: AND AT THAT POINT, IT WAS GOING TO BE ONE LIBRETTIST AND ONE COMPOSER WERE GOING TO WRITE FOR THE PILGRIMS, AND ONE LIBRETTIST AND ONE COMPOSER WERE GONNA WRITE FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, AND SO THERE SEEMED TO BE THIS SORT OF AUTOMATIC ASSUMPTION THAT "WELL, OF COURSE, WE'LL GET THE INDIGENOUS LIBRETTIST AND THE INDIGENOUS COMPOSER TO WRITE FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, AND WE'LL GET THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN"-- DUNCAN: TO WRITE FOR THE PILGRIMS.

I MEAN, WHO WOULDN'T WANT THAT?

KEARNEY: "AND THE CHINESE COMPOSER TO WRITE FOR THE"--SO I WAS LIKE--I WAS ALL-IN.

I WAS LIKE--MY RISK LEVEL WAS PRETTY, LIKE--YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, LIKE, EXISTENTIALLY, I WAS LIKE, "NO.

LET ME AT THOSE PILGRIMS.

I WANT TO DO THAT."

DUNCAN: YEAH.

YOURS WAS A GOOD GIG.

KEARNEY: I WAS LIKE, "WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?"

BUT I REMEMBER--I REMEMBER EARLY ON YOU AND RAVEN SAID, "HOW COME WE NEVER GET TO WRITE FOR THE WHITE PEOPLE?

HOW COME WE NEVER GET TO BE THE WHITE PEOPLE?"

AND THERE WAS THIS MOMENT WHERE IT WAS LIKE HAD WE NOT STARTED OFF BEING WILLING TO, LIKE, EVEN IMAGINE HOW THAT WOULD HAVE GONE--THAT QUESTION TO ME HAS BEEN SORT OF THE CREATIVE BIG QUESTION THAT REALLY DROVE THE FIRST STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF THIS OPERA.

DUNCAN: YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

KEARNEY: THAT TO ME--WE WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN THAT.

DUNCAN: THAT'S TRUE.

KEARNEY: IF WE HADN'T STARTED THERE, RIGHT?

DUNCAN: YEAH.

[VIOLINS PLAYING ATONAL MUSIC] WOMAN: THIS IS, LIKE, ONE I'D HAD IN MY HEAD FOR HER HAIR.

IT'S A FLOATING FRENCH BRAID.

I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN IT, BUT I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO EXPLAIN IT, BUT I JUST DID IT ON HER.

IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.

IF NOT, WE CAN TRY THEM A MORE TRADITIONAL FRENCH BRAID.

LUGER: HOW DO YOU FEEL.

HAHN: ME?

LUGER: YEAH.

HAHN: I MEAN, I FEEL, ATTACHED TO MY HEAD.

LUGER: COULD YOU--COULD YOU DO IT?

HAHN: YEAH, YEAH.

WOMAN: SHE CAN DO IT.

IT'S EASY.

HAHN: IT'S NOT THAT HARD.

WOMAN: IT'S MUCH HARDER THAN A REAL FRENCH BRAID.

LUGER: ROCK IT.

WASHINGTON: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT NATIVE CLOTHING, TRADITIONAL NATIVE CLOTHING, WE DON'T CALL THEM COSTUMES BECAUSE WHEN YOU WEAR A COSTUME YOU'RE PUTTING ON SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE STEPPING INTO A ROLE THAT MAYBE THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU ARE.

WE CALL OUR TRADITIONAL CLOTHING REGALIA.

LUGER: COSTUME TO ME IS SOMETHING THAT YOU PUT ON WITHOUT ANY EFFORT TO EARN IT.

REGALIA IS EARNED.

THE CLOTHING OF INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS, EVERY SINGLE IMAGE AND SHAPE THAT YOU SEE, EVERY DESIGN THAT'S CUT INTO IT, EVERY TRIANGLE, EVERY SQUARE, THEY ALL HAVE MEANING, EVERY--EVERY FEATHER OR HAIR LOCK OR TOOTH OF AN ANIMAL.

YOU DIDN'T JUST FIND THESE AND--AND SLAP THEM ON.

YOU HAD TO EARN THEM IN ORDER TO WEAR THEM.

SITTING IN THIS CONTEXT IN THE 21st CENTURY AND TELLING YOU ABOUT ALL OF THIS--ALL--EVERYTHING THAT I DO IS ACTUALLY ALSO CONTRARY TO THE CUSTOMS OF MOST INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

IT'S NOT COOL TO TALK ABOUT YOURSELF, AND THE REGALIA COMPLETES THAT SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO A ROOM, AND IF PEOPLE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE VISUAL LANGUAGE THAT IS THE REGALIA THAT THE PEOPLE WEAR, THEN THEY DON'T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES.

EVERY SINGLE THING ON THEM TELLS THEIR STORY, AND THEY'LL NEVER HAVE TO UTTER THEIR ACCOMPLISH--YOU KNOW ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SO FOR ME THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGALIA AND COSTUME IS THAT YOU EARN REGALIA.

MAN: STILL COSTUMES.

LUGER: IT'S COSTUMES HERE.

YEAH, YEAH.

BY THE END OF THE RUN, THEY MAY HAVE EARNED IT.

MAN: HEH HEH.

LUGER: BECAUSE EACH FORM IS SO DEPENDENT ON THE OTHER, YOU START A METAPHOR IN THE MUSIC, AND YOU FINISH IT IN A COSTUME.

I'M NOT A COSTUME DESIGNER.

YOU KNOW, EVEN COMING ONTO THIS PROJECT, I DON'T KNOW THE PROTOCOLS OF OPERA OR THEATER EVEN AND HOW THINGS ARE DEVELOPED AND PRESENTED FOR STAGE, SO WHAT I DID IS I MADE THE ARTWORK THAT I MAKE.

I BECOME THE CONDUIT FOR WHAT IS THAT THEME, WHAT ARE THE NARRATIVES, HOW DO--HOW ARE THESE REGALIA PIECES EARNED FOR THIS HOST COMMUNITY?

IT'S ALL MADE UP.

[SINGERS VOCALIZING] THE CHALLENGE ON THIS FOR ME WAS TO DEVELOP A HOST COMMUNITY THAT WASN'T SPECIFIC TO ANY CULTURE THAT REALLY EXISTS.

I TRIED TO USE INDUSTRIAL FELT BECAUSE IT LEANS INTO THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE WORLD.

I'M ALSO USING SPORT EQUIPMENT AS INFRASTRUCTURE TO HOLD THEM, SO SPORT PADS REALLY, SO SHIN GUARDS AND FOOTBALL PADS, BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD REALLY KIND OF LEAN INTO THIS IDEA OF ATHLETICISM.

SOME OF THE--SOME OF THE REGALIA THAT I USE IS ACTUALLY BASED ON STICK GAMES, WHICH THEN EVENTUALLY BECAME LACROSSE, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS AN INDIGENOUS SPORT.

HAHN: I LOVED MAKWA'S COSTUMES.

I THOUGHT THAT--I THINK THAT SHE LOOKS SO GOOD, AND THEY'RE SO VIBRANT AND EXCITING.

TOBIN: MY COYOTE SPIRIT, RIGHT, IS THIS SHAWL THAT'S MADE OUT OF THIS WOVEN BLANKET, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY, "OH, THAT LOOKS LIKE A BLANKET THAT, LIKE, MY GRANDMOTHER HAD OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT."

CANNUPA MADE THIS BEAUTIFUL COYOTE HEAD OUT OF FELT AND SCULPTED FELT.

WHEN I PUT MY ARMS OUT LIKE THIS, I CAN ACTUALLY ACTIVATE THE ANIMAL.

MAN: ♪ RECIPROCITY ♪ KIM: IT'S REALLY OPPRESSIVE.

IT'S, LIKE, SO HEAVY AND SO HOT.

IT'S MADE OF DOZENS OF WIGS MAYBE.

AS SOON AS I PUT IT ON, THERE'S A LOT OF HEAT, A LOT OF FIRE.

WHEN I MOVE MY ARM, IT'S REALLY SLOW, AND THE SLOWNESS BUILDS MORE HEAT, AND SOMETIMES I IMAGINE THE HEAT AS THE VIOLENCE.

IT'S LIKE I'M BURNING AND I'M GOING TO MAKE THE WHOLE WORLD BURN WITH ME.

AS SOON AS THE SCENE IS OVER, I'M LIKE, "GET IT OFF."

JIMMY GIN: ♪ SO YOU SEE WHAT YOU REMEMBER DOESN'T MATTER MIGHT OVER MORAL HAS COME AND IT'S SO MUCH BETTER ♪ MAKWA: ♪ I REMEMBER WHEN YOU CAME YOUR SKIN REEKED OF DROWNING YOU WERE HUDDLED WRETCHED, AND POOR IN YOUR SHIP WE TOLD YOU THIS LAND IS OUR KIN WHEN WE FED YOU OUR FAMILY'S BOUNTY WE SHIELDED YOU FROM DYING ♪ HAHN: "FEAST 2" IS JUST ABOUT ME COMING TO THE REALIZATION SLOWLY THAT I DON'T HAVE A VOICE, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING.

I AM PROPERTY TO THESE EMPTY PEOPLE, AND JIMMY GIN AND HIS PEOPLE HAVE WON.

KEARNEY: THE MOMENT OF BREACH HAS NOW BEEN TURNED INTO IN "FEAST 2" THE MOMENT OF "YES, I DO."

JIMMY GIN: ♪ I VOW TO HOLD YOU HERE FOREVER IN OUR SWEET, SWEET LAND ♪ MAKWA: ♪ I WAS A SEER I KNEW THE FUTURE BUT I DIDN'T SEE OUR ERASURE THAT DAY MAY COST US EVERYTHING ♪ HAHN: AND THAT'S "FEAST 2," AND IT ENDS WITH ME RESIGNING MYSELF TO A LIFE OF SERVITUDE.

SHARON: FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF SOMEONE WHO IS NOT NATIVE, OF COURSE, I CONNECT SO STRONGLY WHEN I HEAR MAKWA SINGING AT THE END OF "FEAST 2."

WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS AN ACT OF SURVIVAL, AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS ACTUALLY TRYING TO CARRY THAT STORY FORWARD IN WHATEVER WAY THEY CAN, EVEN KNOWING THAT THEY'RE IN THIS COMPROMISED SITUATION.

BELLUZ: THE LAST IMAGE OF "FEAST 2" IS JIMMY AND MAKWA STANDING ALMOST LIKE THE BRIDE AND GROOM FIGURINE ON TOP OF A WEDDING CAKE.

MAKWA: ♪ I'LL SAY I WILL I'LL SAY I DO ♪ CHORUS: ♪ WE'LL ALWAYS MAKE A PLACE FOR YOU IN OUR SWEET, SWEET LAND ♪ [ORCHESTRA PLAYING OMINOUS MUSIC] SHARON: I THINK THIS PARTICULAR REHEARSAL IS A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO RECONNECT WITH THE IDEAS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE, THE IDEAS OF THE PIECE, WHAT IT'S ABOUT, AND WHY WE'RE DOING IT.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT--MAYBE TAKE ONE LESS--A LITTLE BIT LESS PRESSURE OFF OF THE FEELING OF "I GOT TO GET THIS, RIGHT.

I GOT TO GET THIS RIGHT" AND MORE REMEMBERING THE CONTENT AND REMEMBERING THE IDEAS BECAUSE WHEN THAT IS RIGHT, EVERYTHING ELSE WILL WORK.

LUGER: I DON'T KNOW.

I'M JUST TOTALLY INSPIRED BY HOW MUCH EFFORT IS PUT FORWARD TO CREATE THIS EXPERIENCE, AND--AND WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?

WE SHARE IT AND WE GIVE IT AWAY, YOU KNOW?

IT'S INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL.

SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU IN CASE I'M TOTALLY INSANE FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS AGO.

[CHEERING] SHARON: WE BEGIN THE PROCESS TOGETHER.

WE MEET AGAIN IN THE MIDDLE, AND WE END THIS PIECE TOGETHER, BUT IN BETWEEN, WE'VE HAD RADICALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES.

TOBIN: WE ARE RETURNED TO KIND OF THE PRESENT AND ALSO KIND OF THE FUTURE, AND WE'RE NO LONGER IN, YOU KNOW, THE STRUCTURES THAT THE OPERA EXISTED IN.

WE'RE OUTSIDE BY THE TRAIN TRACKS.

[DRUM BEATING, WOMAN VOCALIZING] SHARON: FOR THIS FINAL SCENE OF "SWEET LAND," THE AUDIENCE COMES BACK TOGETHER TO THE EXACT SAME LOCATION WHERE THEY FIRST SAW THIS ENCOUNTER BETWEEN HOSTS AND ARRIVALS, BUT INSTEAD OF THAT MYTH, INSTEAD OF THAT FICTION, WE ARE NOW CONFRONTED WITH THE REAL LANDSCAPE.

YAANGA IS NOW THIS CONSTRUCTION SITE FOR SOME COMPLETELY UNKNOWN FUTURE, AND WITHIN IT ARE ALL OF THESE SUPPRESSED STORIES AND SUPPRESSED MEMORIES, AND ALL OF THOSE STORIES START TO INTERSECT AND ARE PROJECTED, LITERALLY PROJECTED ONTO THE SURFACE OF A LANDSCAPE THAT WANTS TO PRETEND LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED.

I'M GOING TO JUMP RIGHT INTO IT AND CUT TO THE CHASE AS I'M SURE EVERYONE IS QUITE ANXIOUS TO HEAR ABOUT HOW WE ARE PROCEEDING IN THE--IN THE WAKE OF.

SO--OF A CONSTANTLY SHIFTING, VERY FLUID CIRCUMSTANCE WITH PUBLIC HEALTH.

IT'S JUST NO LONGER THE RIGHT THING TO DO TO PROCEED WITH THE PERFORMANCES.

SO BEFORE ANYONE PANICS, I DO WANT TO SAY THAT WE ARE GOING FORWARD WITH A DECISION TO CANCEL THE REMAINDER OF THE RUN.

[TRAIN CLATTERING] KEARNEY: WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE RUN OF "SWEET LAND" HAVING BEEN CUT SHORT BY A PANDEMIC WITHOUT IMAGINING THE IRONY.

LUGER: A PANDEMIC DEVASTATED OUR POPULATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

DISEASE WAS REALLY, WHAT GAVE THE COLONIAL POWERS AN ABILITY TO HAVE A FOOTPRINT HERE.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT STORY WITHOUT DISEASE.

SHARON: I KNEW THAT EVERY PROJECT THAT THE INDUSTRY DOES IS LIKE A TIGHTROPE WALK AND THAT AT ANY MOMENT WE COULD PLUNGE TO OUR DEATHS, BUT THE ONE THING I CAN THINK ABOUT IS THAT THE PIECE IS SO FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT SURVIVAL.

THE STORY OF MAKWA, THE STORY OF THESE HOSTS IS THE STORY OF SURVIVAL.

THESE EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS WON THE DAY, AND SO THEIR STORY IS THE ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS, BUT ACTUALLY HISTORY IS MADE UP OF A LOT OF INTERSECTING STORIES AND A LOT OF INTERWEAVING STORIES.

IN MANY WAYS, I WISH THAT "SWEET LAND" DIDN'T JUST HAVE TWO TRACKS BUT HAD 10.

LUGER: "SWEET LAND" UNFORTUNATELY REMAINS RELEVANT, WILL REMAIN RELEVANT.

KEARNEY: IN THINKING ABOUT THE EVENTS OF JANUARY 6, THE COUP, AND PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, CRYING, "OH, THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE!

THIS ISN'T WHO WE ARE!"

LIKE, ABSOLUTELY IT'S WHO WE ARE.

IT'S WHO WE ARE.

THAT THERE, THAT STATEMENT, "THIS IS THIS ISN'T WHO WE ARE," THAT'S THE BEGINNING OF YET ANOTHER MYTH.

"SWEET LAND" IN THIS CURRENT MANIFESTATION DOES WORK THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR IT TO DO.

EVEN IF WE SOLVED ALL THE PROBLEMS, WE WOULD NEED SOMETHING TO REMIND US WHAT THOSE PROBLEMS ARE AND TO ALWAYS REMIND US HOW EASILY, HOW EASILY IT CAN BE FOR US TO SLIP INTO THE KIND OF WORLD THAT WE SAW ON JANUARY 6 AND THAT WE WERE MYTHOLOGIZING IN "SWEET LAND."

YUN: IF WE DON'T THINK THIS STORY IS PART OF OUR STORIES, I THINK MOST SOCIETIES WILL HAVE TROUBLES.

DUNCAN: I THINK THINKING ABOUT THE EVENTS OF THE PAST YEAR AND THE MANY, MANY THINGS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED HAVE MADE ME A LITTLE BIT HUNGRY FOR SORT OF A THIRD POSSIBILITY IN THE TWO TRACKS, AND I WOULD REALLY BE DELIGHTED IF WE NOW COULD DO A THIRD ONE WHERE IT'S LIKE, "WHAT IS THIS POSSIBLE FUTURE THAT WE WANT TO CREATE TOGETHER?"

LUGER: THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT NARRATIVES AROUND WHO WE CELEBRATE AS FOREFATHERS AND, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE IN THIS-- IN THIS PLACE, BUT WE DON'T RECOGNIZE HOW DIFFICULT AND HARD THAT WAS.

WE DON'T RECOGNIZE THE SUFFERING AND THE DISPLACEMENT THAT'S INVOLVED IN THAT, AND IF WE DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT, THEN THAT JUSTIFIES US TO BE COLD TO THOSE WHO SEEK REFUGE TODAY.

THIS STORY IS TO REMIND US THAT WE ALL BELONG TO A PLACE RATHER THAN A PLACE BELONGING TO YOU.

WOMAN: ♪ HERE NO SWEET LAND HERE NO SWEET LAND HERE NO SWEET LAND HERE NO SWEET LAND HERE NO SWEET LAND HERE ♪ [TRAIN RUMBLING] ANNOUNCER: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY: ANNE RAY FOUNDATION, A MARGARET A. CARGILL PHILANTHROPY; VISION MAKER MEDIA; CITY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS; L.A. COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE; NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS; FREIDA BERLINSKI FOUNDATION; AND THE NATIVE ARTS AND CULTURE FOUNDATION.