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.
The company that created Invisible Cities and Hopscotch, now brings you a grotesque historical pageant that disrupts the dominant narrative of American identity.
By Raven Chacon, Du Yun, Aja Couchois Duncan, and Douglas Kearney
Sweet Land was recorded live on set at the Los Angeles State Historic Park on March 15, 2020, the evening Los Angeles County issued the first lockdown orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the incredible work of our ensemble, creative, and production teams, we captured one final impassioned performance to preserve what the Los Angeles Times called "opera as astonishment." Over the next year, we collected additional studio recordings to complete the album.
We have created two listening experiences: Standard Edition and an exclusive Bandcamp Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition features a bonus track and a robust booklet illustrated with images from the live performance. The booklet includes an essay by Gundula Kreuzer, and a conversation with the composers (Raven Chacon & Du Yun), and the conductors (Marc Lowenstein & Jenny Wong).
Blog Posts about Sweet Land
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Creative Team
Like all of The Industry’s previous works, Sweet Land is the result of a highly collaborative and multi-perspectival approach.
Composers
Raven Chacon
Composer Raven Chacon, United States Artists fellow and winner of the Creative Capital Award, is a composer, performer and installation artist from Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation.
Librettists
Aja Couchois Duncan
Librettist Aja Couchois Duncan is a mixed-race Ojibwe writer who works to advance equity and social justice.
Douglas Kearney
Librettist Douglas Kearney is a poet whose “polyphonic diction pulls history apart, recombining it to reveal an alternative less whitewashed by enfranchised power” (BOMB Magazine)
Directors
Cannupa Hanska Luger
Co-director Cannupa Hanksa Luger is a multidisciplinary artist who interweaves performance and political action to communicate stories about 21st-century Indigeneity.
Yuval Sharon
Co-director Yuval Sharon is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Industry and a 2017 MacArthur Fellow.
Credits
Creative Team
- COMPOSERRaven Chacon
- COMPOSERDu Yun
- LIBRETTISTAja Couchois Duncan
- LIBRETTISTDouglas Kearney*
- DIRECTOR & COSTUME DESIGNER Cannupa Hanska Luger
- DIRECTORYuval Sharon
- ASSOCIATE DIRECTORJonathan Muñoz-Proulx
- SOUND DESIGNERJody Elff
- PRODUCTION/LIGHTING DESIGNERJeanette Oi-Suk Yew
- PROJECTION DESIGNERHana S. Kim
- PROJECTION ADVISOR Alex Schweder
- SCENIC DESIGNERTanya Orellana
- SCENIC DESIGNER Carlo Maghirang
- COSTUME DESIGNER E.B. Brooks
- CHOREOGRAPHER Tonantzin Carmelo
CAST
- COYOTECarmina Escobar
- COYOTEMicaela Tobin
- COYOTEKathryn Shuman
- WIINDIGOSharon Chohi Kim*
- TOTAA'AR Jenny Wong
- TOTAA'AR Lucy Yates
- MAKWAKelci Hahn
- GRANDFATHERDerrell Acon
- FATHERBabatunde Akinboboye
- BROTHERFahad Siadat
- JIMMY GINScott Belluz
- GUIDEJehnean Washington
- BOWLindsay Patterson Abdou
- DRUMNandani Sinha
- CAPTAINJon Lee Keenan*
- PREACHERRichard Hodges
- RIFLEJoanna Ceja
- SCRIBEPeabody Southwell
- SCRIBEMolly Pease
- SPECK Micah Angelo Luna
- SPECK Leander Rajan
ORCHESTRA
- MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CO-CONDUCTORMarc Lowenstein
- CO-CONDUCTOR Jenny Wong
- CONCERTMASTER Maiani da Silva
- VIOLIN Adrianne Pope
- VIOLIN Mona Tian
- VIOLA Marta Honer
- VIOLA Diana Wade
- CELLO Jennifer Bewerse
- CELLO Derek Stein
- BASS Ben Finley
- BASS Hakeem Holloway
- FLUTE Erin McKibben
- FLUTE AND SAXOPHONE Damon Zick
- CLARINET AND SAXOPHONE Brian Walsh
- CLARINET AND SAXOPHONE Andrew Conrad
- TRUMPET Sarah Belle Reid
- TROMBONE Matt Barbier
- TUBA Luke Storm
- TUBA Brad Moller
- GUITAR Lily Maase
- GUITAR Michel Von Loh
- PIANO Lucy Yates
- PIANO Milena Gligic
- PERCUSSION Corey Fogel
- PERCUSSION Jordan Curcuruto
- PERCUSSION Derek Tywoniuk
PRODUCTION
- EXECUTIVE DIRECTORElizabeth Cline
- EXECUTIVE PRODUCERJhane Myers
- PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mariana Perez-Seda
- TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Jacob Patterson
- PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Amelia Nordin
- ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx
- PROPS MASTER Erik Albidress
- ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Yael Greenberg
- STAGE MANAGERS Isabella Grace, Ben Kutner, Mitchell Webb
- ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS Kymberli Skye Butler, Aliyah Smith, Amanda Reynoso, Andrea Ruffalo, Pita Taing, Liv Wafler
- ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER & MASTER ELECTRICIAN Ashley Duke
- ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER Annie Szeliski
- WARDROBE SUPERVISOR Kaszandra A. Liput
- WARDROBE ASSISTANTS Ryan Norton, Cassidy Santos
- ASSISTANT PROJECTION DESIGN/VIDEO LEAD Erin Teachman
- CREW/VIDEO OPERATOR Tess Lauren Holtzman
- BUILD LEAD Greg Schenk
- CREW Helen Aboulhosn, Mikie Beatty, Cole Castine, Jay Emstrom, Josh Esquivel, Stephen Estrada Jr, Alex Legolvan, Roman Prado, Francesca Quintano, Mateo Rudich
- ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE Brian Sea
- ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Gabriella Rhodeen
- BOX OFFICE MANAGER Sydney McDonald
- COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR Derrell Acon
- COMMUNITY OUTREACH ASSISTANT Alyse James
- ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, EVENTS Jaden LaRue
- COMMUNICATIONS Sounding Point
- PUBLIC RELATIONS First Chair Promotions
- GRAPHIC DESIGNVisual Issues
- FRONT OF HOUSE STAFFJay Carlon, Evangeline Crittenden, Dionna Daniel, Richie De Maria, Brenna Fredrickson, Ryan Masson, Stephanie Petagno, Jonathan Potter, On Shiu, Kelley Williams
* Denotes a Company Member of The Industry
Support for Sweet Land
Sweet Land is supported in part by generous grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, LA County Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and the Pasadena Arts Alliance.
The Commissioning of Du Yun for Sweet Land received funding from OPERA America’s Grants for Female Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
A special thank you to our community hosts the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission.
Leadership Support for the production of Sweet Land comes from The Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Foundation, Category41, and William Anawalt and Anawalt Lumber. The music of Sweet Land is commissioned by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.
Visionary support for the production is also provided by Stuart Meiklejohn and Mary Ann O’Connor, Betsy Greenberg, Abby Sher, Myrna Cook, Ruth Eliel and Bill Cooney, Maurice Singer, and Debra Vilinsky and Michael Sopher.
Sweet Land “Directors’ Chairs” are underwritten by Leslie Lassiter and Raulee Marcus.
Major support provided by Fariba Ghaffari, Christine Adams and James Asperger, Evelyn and Stephen Block, Gary and Lolly Brown, Robert A. Ellis, Ruth Gilliland and Arthur Rieman, Adam Paris, Stephanie Barron, Dr. Erika Marina Nadir and Sam Maizel, Diane and Peter Gray, Rajika and Anupam Puri, Yuval Sharon, Yuval Bar-Zemer & Gudrun Goetschke, Hyon Chough, Anonymous, Barbara Cohn, Kyle Funn, Kenneth Reinhard and Julia Reinhard Lupton, Kiki Ramos and David Gindler, Debra and John Warfel, Dan and Liat Zuckerman, NancyBell Coe and Bill Burke, Stephanie and Alfred Shuman, Susan Bienkowski and Wang Lee, and Rosanne Ziering.
Sweet Land Ticketing and Experience FAQ
Q: How can I experience Sweet Land now that performances are cancelled?
A: Visit stream.sweetlandopera.com for more details.
Q: I have already purchased the stream, but when I try to play it, Vimeo just brings me back to the trailer page?
A: For those of you who have already purchased the stream and are experiencing technical difficulties getting access to it, one of our teammates has figured out this workaround:
- Open the Firefox browser. If you don't already have it, you can download it for free.
- Using the Firefox browser, go to Vimeo.com, press 'login' and enter in your account details.
- Hover over the smiley face icon on the upper right-hand corner. This should bring up a menu bar. Scroll down the menu bar to “Purchases.” This should take you to a new screen that should show Sweet Land in your library (if you've already purchased it). Hover over the Sweet Land image, and click on the “Watch Now” icon that appears. This will take you to a new screen that opens the Sweet Land streaming page.
- Scroll to the bottom of the Sweet Land streaming page, and you should see both tracks available for streaming. Click “Watch Now” to the right of whichever track you want to view, and it should load above.
Q: I donated my tickets to a cancelled performance. Do I get the stream for free?
A: If you have already purchased the video stream and/or if you've donated your tickets for a performance that was cancelled, you should be able to access the video by visiting stream.sweetlandopera.com and putting in the access code that was emailed directly to you by Vimeo or The Industry's box office.
Q: I pre-ordered the video and I'm ready to watch it. What do I do?
A: You should have received an access code via email. Visit stream.sweetlandopera.com, type in that code, and you should be all set.
Q: I didn't receive an access code. What should I do?
A: If you pre-ordered or donated your tickets and did NOT yet receive an access code, please email sweetland@theindustryla.org for assistance.
Q: I'm having technical issues with Vimeo — how can I solve them?
A: Please go to Vimeo's Help Center or contact Vimeo directly.
Tickets
- Tickets are non-refundable.
- The performance is outdoors and will take place rain or shine. There will be no late entry.
- There are two Sweet Land “tracks.” Each track features a different story, with different music and different cast members. Both tracks offer a complete experience and feature music by both composers and both writers.
- The box office will assign your track.
- If you wish to see both tracks, you must purchase your tickets for separate days (which you can do in the same transaction or in a different transaction).
- The ticket for the second show each night is discounted to reflect timing and comfort only for an outdoor performance — there is no difference between the two performances, they are the same.
- If you return for another performance, the box office will know which track you experienced only if you were the ticket purchaser and will automatically assign you the opposite track.
- If you were not the ticket purchaser (meaning we do not have your name on file), please let us know which track you saw in the comments section at check-out and we will automatically assign you the opposite track.
- If you are coming to see a specific artist, please notify us in the comments section at check-out.
- There are 250 $25 tickets available thanks to the generous support of D. Stuart Meiklejohn, Vera R. Campbell Foundation, and Fariba Ghaffari. These tickets are designed to increase accessibility for community members, students, and artists. Please contact boxoffice@theindustryla.org for availability.
- At check-in, please show your ticket located in your confirmation email. No need to print, we can look at this up from your device.
Performance
- As of March 13, 2020 performances of Sweet Land have been canceled due to COVID-19
- This performance is for ages 13 and over. Sweet Land is a visceral exploration of intense themes in an immersive setting and therefore may not be appropriate for younger audiences.
- The performance is 85 minutes long.
- Dress and pack for an outdoor, mobile experience: layers, weather-appropriate clothing, closed-toe walking shoes, and rain jacket and umbrella if needed. Bulky bags, blankets, and food will not be permitted.
- You’ll be on the move or standing for almost half of the performance. Each track requires getting in and out of seats and crossing uneven, possibly muddy ground.
- If you have mobility concerns, please contact us at boxoffice@theindustryla.org for special access.
- Read the “Know Before You Go” email in detail (sent 48 hours ahead of the performance) for further instructions.
Location and Arrival
- The box office is located along Baker St on the northeast end of the park. Look for Sweet Land signs along the paved path.
- You will receive a detailed map and directions in your “Know Before You Go” email (sent 48 hours ahead of the performance).
- Please arrive 30 minutes before your performance time.
- Free parking is available in the outer grounds along N Spring St. Navigate to 1500 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 and use the entrance at Sotello Street and N Spring St to access the general parking. Additional street parking is available along the Southeast side of N Spring Street. Please check all posted street and parking signs. Parking is a 3-4 minute walk to the Box Office.
- Please note that there is no parking along Baker St. Help us respect our neighbors by not double parking or parking illegally.
- It is an 18-minute walk from the Metro L (Gold) Line Chinatown Station to the box office.
- The rest of the park will close at 6 pm. There will be no other access to the Park after 6 pm.
- No pets or smoking allowed at the Park.
If we did not answer your question here, please contact us at (213) 761-8598 or at boxoffice@theindustryla.org. We will respond to your request within 24 hours.






