LibGuides: MUS 460/560: New Millennium Opera: The Bonesetter's Daughter

Source & background materials

Amy Tan biography
Martin, Patricia. “Amy Tan.” Great Authors, 2005, Biography Reference Center.
Novel's overview
Priya, Lakshmi. "The Bonesetter's Daughter: An Overview." Language in India vol. 12, no. 2, Feb 2012.

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
Call Number: [Reserves] PS3570.A48 B6 2001
Publication Date: 2001
The novel upon which the opera is based.

The opera: The Bonesetter's Daughter

Essential information
Artistic personnel and premiere information, synopsis, character and voicings list. Audio and video clips and still images from the premiere.
Libretto
Full score
Voice & piano score
Act One video online
1 hour, 18 minutes. Recorded live performance of the San Francisco Opera production.
Act Two video online
52 minutes. Continued from previous video.
Journey of The Bonesetter's Daughter
20 minutes.This PBS Documentary chronicles the making of Stewart Wallace's The Bonesetter's Daughter, his four year collaboration with Amy Tan, and the San Francisco Opera's production.

Fate! Luck! Chance!: Amy Tan, Stewart Wallace, and the making of The Bonesetter's Daughter opera by Ken Smith
Call Number: [Reserves] ML410.W279 S65 2008
Publication Date: 2008
Published contemporaneously with the opera premiere, this book documents its collaborative creation. Includes the complete libretto.

Reviews & analyses

Amy Tan: Novelist Turned Librettist
Lyden, Jacki. "Amy Tan: Novelist Turned Librettist." All Things Considered, NPR, Sept. 13, 2008.
Chinese Whispers
Smith, Ken. "Chinese Whispers," Opera, Sept. 2008, vol. 59, no. 9, pp. 1029-1034.
Opera review
Ulrich, Allan. "San Francisco." Opera, Dec. 2008, vol. 59, no. 12, pp. 1477-1479.
Daily Variety review
Harvey, Dennis, "The Bonesetter's Daugher," Daily Variety, Sept. 25, 2008, vol. 300, no. 58, pp. 2, 14.
Opera News review
Driscoll, F. Paul. "San Francisco." Opera News, vol. 73, no. 6, Dec. 2008, pp. 58-59.

The New York Times articles and reviews

Links on titles are to the library's database Business Insights: Global. Links on "Website" are to nytimes.com, and access is limited to five articles per month without a personal subscription.

Melvin, Sheila. "Multilayered story, multinational opera." 31 Aug. 2008: 21(L). Website.
Tommasini, Anthony. "3 Generations of Chinese Women Find Voice in Opera." 14 Sept. 2008: E1(L). Website.
Tommasini, Anthony. "New Opera? Great Idea. Good Luck!" 12 Oct. 2008: 1(L). Website.

MUS 460/560: New Millennium Opera

Brief info

Date: 2008

Composer: Stewart Wallace

Librettist: Amy Tan

Source Material: The Bonesetter's Daughter, novel by Amy Tan

Source & background materials

The opera: The Bonesetter's Daughter

Reviews & analyses

The New York Times articles and reviews