Libretto by Royce Vavrek
“Searing… An appallingly good work…Ms. Du’s music obeys only her own omnivorous tastes and assured dramatic instincts.”
– Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times
Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music, Angel’s Bone is a new work of opera-theatre that follows the plight of two angels whose nostalgia for earthly delights has, mysteriously, brought them back to our world. They are found battered and bruised from their long journey by a man and his wife. Mr. and Mrs. X.E. set out to nurse the wounded angels back to health: they bathe them, wash the dirt from their nails…then lock them in a room and decide to exploit these magical beings for wealth and personal gains. Angel’s Bone melds chamber music, theatre, punk rock, opera, cabaret, and electronics, exploring the dark effects and motivations behind modern-day slavery and the trafficking industry.
Originally commissioned by the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia. Completion co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and HERE. World Premiere co-produced by Beth Morrison Projects, HERE, and Trinity Wall Street. The world premiere was supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
First Performance: January 6, 2016 at 3LD Center for Art and Technology, New York
Role | Voice Type | Premiere Cast |
Mrs. X.E. | mezzo soprano | Abigail Fischer |
Mr. X.E. | baritone | Kyle Pfortmiller |
Girl Angel | vocalist | Jennifer Charles |
Boy Angel | tenor | Kyle Bielfield |
Music Director: Julian Wachner. Featuring the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and NOVUS NY
From the 2018 staging at the Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival:
Angel’s Bone World Premiere Recording
Release Date: August 2017. National Sawdust Tracks.
Premiere Cast recording, featuring the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and NOVUS NY.
Music Director: Julian Wachner
Album original paintings by Shahzia Sikander.














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Press
Audacious and searing… an appalling good work… Ms. Du’s music obeys only her own omnivorous tastes and assured dramatic instincts… Courageous and memorable performances from all.
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times
“Enthralling and always absorbing…. When so much contemporary opera consists of anodyne treatments of established literary texts, it’s bracing to encounter a work as adventurous and thoroughly original as Angel’s Bone.”
Fred Cohen, Opera America
a remarkably potent score… pathbreaking
Thomas May, Classical Voice America
Named the No.1 Best International Show in Hong Kong in 2018
South China Morning Post
“Devastating… Disturbing, powerful and original”
Anne Midgette, The Washington Post
“A powerful score in a top-notch presentation”
Daniel Stephen Johnson, Musical America
Most Online Searched at the 2019 Beijing Music Festival
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