HER | alive.un.dead by Emily Koh

HER | alive.un.dead is a concert-length media opera about three generations of Asian women in a single family. Through birth and death cycles in the family, and encounters in a space called the “in-between”, these women expound on gender biases against women, and discriminatory practices upon people of Asian descent.

HER | alive.un.dead focuses on the specific experiences of being an Asian woman in a largely Western society and upbringing. This clash between East and West is interpreted differently between three generations of women in a single family, and changes drastically from character to character due to each character’s background and upbringing: fresh immigrant with strong connections to her homeland, first-generation Chinese American trying to integrate into American society, and a second-generation Chinese American who really only feels like she is American and is ignoring the ‘Chinese’ part of her heritage.

The opera will take place in ten scenes within three acts, with over 60 minutes of music. The narrative is non-linear, which helps contrast between the dramatic arc and musical arc of the work.

The libretto is in English, Mandarin, and Teochew.