SAVE THE DATE: The Industry’s New Opera “Sweet Land” Opens at Los Angeles State Historic Park – Saturday, February 29

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The Industry, an experimental opera company based in Los Angeles, has attracted attention for its innovative productions since launching in 2012. Their new site-specific opera, Sweet Land, makes its world premiere in Downtown LA this weekend—and it, too, is an impressive endeavor.

Back in 2015, Cartwheel created a special Arts District tour as a tie-in to Hopscotch, The Industry’s mobile opera, which took place in 24 cars. In 2017, The Industry partnered with the LA Philharmonic for an opera based on War of the Worlds that repurposed defunct air raid sirens in Downtown Los Angeles into speakers broadcasting the live performance from Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Sweet Land will be performed on a set in the northeast corner of the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The new opera takes its name from the line “Sweet land of liberty” in the song “America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee).” The official website describes Sweet Land as “a grotesque historical pageant that disrupts the dominant narrative of American identity.”

The Industry presents Sweet Land, a new opera

A diverse team of immigrants, artists, and activists collaborated to create Sweet Land. Among them: Composer Du Yun is a Chinese immigrant who won a Pulitzer Prize for music for her opera Angel’s Bone. She’s working with Raven Chacon, a composer, artist, and advocate from the Navajo Nation. Douglas Kearney, a librettist and award-winning poet, is working with librettist Aja Couchois Duncan, a mixed-race Ojibwe writer who focuses on social justice. Director Yuval Sharon is a 2017 MacArthur Fellow whose works with the Industry include Hopscotch, Invisible Cities, and War of the Worlds. Director and costume designer, Cannupa Hanksa Luger is an installation artist of Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Austrian, and Norwegian descent.

Tickets to Sweet Land are $75-110. A special opening night ticket price of $250 includes a post-show reception. (Use discount code SLPARTNER10 for 10% off any performance.)

The Industry invites the public to its free Sunday Sessions series, held prior to Sweet Land’s Sunday performances. Arranged in partnership with Autry Museum of the American West and IKAR, these events will feature performances and discussions with community leaders and local artists about how art and culture are used to navigate different marginalized experiences.

Watch the Sweet Land trailer

Performances:
Fridays – Sundays, February 29 – March 15, 2020 (various times)

Get tickets to Sweet Land.
(Use discount code SLPARTNER10 for 10% off any performance.)

Address:
1724 Baker Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

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