Theater News

Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter Documentary to Air on PBS May 8

Ning Liang and Qian Yi in The Bonesetter's Daughter
(© Terrence McCarthy/San Francisco Opera)
Ning Liang and Qian Yi in The Bonesetter’s Daughter
(© Terrence McCarthy/San Francisco Opera)

Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter, a documentary about the making of the opera — which is based upon Amy Tan’s bestselling novel — will air on PBS on Sunday, May 8. The documentary is directed by David Petersen and produced by Monica Lam.

The documentary follows the creation of the San Francisco Opera’s celebrated production of The Bonesetter’s Daughter, composed by Stewart Wallace with a libretto by Tam. Celebrated Chinese Opera director Chen Shi-Zheng helmed the cross-cultural production, which brought together artists from China and the U.S. to tell a story about the difficult but unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters.

Among other things, the film follows Wallace as he travels to China to research its musical traditions, and captures the creative and technical challenges of mounting a new work, one with high emotional and artistic stakes as Tan and Chen struggle to reconcile their divergent stylistic interpretations of her autobiographical story.

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