“Sweet Land” would have been a punch in the gut under any circumstances. Chaotic, conflicted, implacably honest, it unfurled a narrative that dismantled its own ideological underpinnings and exposed its own lies. Read More
“Sweet Land” is opera as astonishment. To say that Sharon has changed the operatic landscape by changing the physical landscape of opera is glibly obvious. That is what he has done but in ways — musically, visually, theatrically, environmentally, historically — that are not glib and far from obvious. So, what is “Sweet Land”? It’s too early to say, which is one of its many remarkable and remarkably confusing glories. Read More
The work captures — with a poetry that’s stern yet colorful, oblique yet blunt — the uneasiness of our past and future as a nation defined by brutal oppression and pervasive cultural mixing, and by a history that’s been painfully selective about what it remembers. Read More
We need a sense of reckoning with our history. How can art play a role in that? “Sweet Land,” which premieres on Saturday is an attempt by Mr. Sharon — along with a team of collaborators and his innovative company, the Industry — to at least start a conversation. Read More
The "Sweet Land" team have created not only an on-site experience but also an engrossing personal viewing event. During these perilous times, a streaming ticket to Sweet Land while reclining on your couch may prove the best seat in town. Read More
February 29, 2020by Carolina A. MirandaVisit original LA Times article Greetings, humans. It’s Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los... Read More
Opera: The Arrivals wash up on the shore. They make contact with another civilization they call “the Hosts.” And from there, the story splinters, following diverging perspectives. Starting as a procession through the LA State Historic Park, Sweet Land becomes an opera that erases itself. Read More
The spirit of "Sweet Land" lives on not only on their website where it can be streamed, but in the current real-world push to dispense with symbols of a romanticized past that don’t square with the bloody facts, whether they be town square statues or logos of professional sports teams. Read More