OperaWire: Scalia/Ginsburg ‘is the kind of opera that should be everywhere’

Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg was produced in March 2020 in a special online broadcast by Opera Grand Rapids.

OperaWire calls Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg “a fantastic gem,” “a blast to watch,” and “the very definition of inclusive.…this is the kind of opera that should be everywhere.”

[Scalia/Ginsburg] by Derrick Wang is a fantastic gem of a piece that takes a look at the titular judges and their opposite viewpoints.…[I]n doing so, the opera does what great works of art do — it tells us something far deeper and richer about human nature.

On the score:

[W]e learn of the two Supreme Court justices’ different views on the [C]ourt, their pasts, and eventually their common bond as friends when at the end of the opera, they recognize themselves as one voice. “We are different”[,] they add, though this entire passage is a duet that brings their voices together while they each highlight their uniqueness and views. This musical passage is the moment where the opera transcends…law and constitutional [issues] to speak directly to the beauty of human difference as its unifying force.…Scalia and Ginsburg find themselves in a lyrical duet of distinct and unique beauty….[The score] is a truly mesmerizing and philosophical exploration not only of its subjects, but also of the opera [genre].

On the libretto:

It’s also a blast to watch. For those that might be a bit overwhelmed by the legalese that gets thrown around, Wang, who also wrote the libretto, finds a way to pack the opera with a lot of humor. The libretto is often written with rhyming couplets that are not only clever but also expansive in their wordplay. This is a libretto that was very carefully and intelligently crafted [for] audiences of all kinds; like its music, its themes, its story, it is the very definition of inclusive.

On the impact of Scalia/Ginsburg:

This opportunity [to watch Scalia/Ginsburg] served as a reminder that in this moment of difficulty there are still opportunities to connect with one another. On both a textual and even metatextual level, this opera has accomplished that goal…[T]his is the kind of opera that should be everywhere.

The full OperaWire review can be found here.

Pictured: Peter Scott Drackley (tenor), Jennifer Zetlan (soprano), Michael Colman (bass-baritone).