The Camp

The Camp

JACCC Aratani Theatre
244 South San Pedro St Los Angeles

In 1942, during World War II, 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry-two-thirds of whom were American citizens-were unjustly incarcerated in concentration camps within the United States. Created by librettist Lionelle Hamanaka, a descendant of camp survivors, and composer Daniel Kessner, this world premiere contemporary opera tells the moving story of the Shimono family, Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their suburban home in Southern California. After Mas, a fisherman and the head of the household, is arrested by the FBI on suspicion of espionage, the family is reunited in a desolate incarceration camp. As the family struggles to survive the emotional and physical toll of their wrongful imprisonment, this poignant, new opera illuminates the remarkable strength of familial bonds and the power of collective resistance in the face of injustice.

Feb 22 - Mar 2, 2025