In an Associated Press report Monday (7/2), Julie Watson writes, “After returning from the battlefields of Iraq, Christian Ellis found the only way to soothe the war wounds in his soul was by losing himself singing opera’s powerful, haunting songs. Now the 29-year-old former Marine machine gunner—who has attempted suicide four times—is putting his pain on stage in the first opera believed written about the war: ‘Fallujah.’ The two-hour performance is an unnerving musical journey into his head. ‘Fallujah’ was developed in Vancouver, Canada, by City Opera Vancouver with the help of a playwright, a composer, nine actors and an 11-member orchestra in a kind of performance laboratory. It will debut July 2 on explore.org/fallujah and will be marketed to opera houses. … The new chamber opera is a project of Explore.org, a philanthropic media organization that is a division of the Los Angeles-based Annenberg Foundation. Philanthropist Charles Annenberg met Ellis at a retreat for veterans with PTSD. Annenberg was moved by the fact the former Camp Pendleton Marine—who had been trained as a classical singer before joining the military—turned to opera to calm his anxiety.”
Posted July 3, 2012
