Shizue: An American Story

Portland Opera to Go (POGO) is thrilled to announce their new commission for Fall 2024, Shizue: An American Story, composed by Kenji Oh, with a libretto by Dmae Lo Roberts, our very own Executive Producer of MediaRites. This new piece illuminates the life of the remarkable poet and artist Shizue Iwatsuki. Shizue lived an extraordinary life as an inspiring artist with an adventurous spirit, in Hood River, Oregon, despite facing bigotry and imprisonment in American concentration camps, with thousands of other Japanese Americans during World War II. She became a leader in her community, celebrating Japanese culture and heritage while embracing American citizenship. Through it all, Shizue embodied the concept of gaman, which means “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.”

"I feel a great honor when Alexis Hamilton, the director of POGO asked me to write the libretto for Shizue: An American Story  and to bring it to young audiences in Oregon,” says librettist Dmae Lo Roberts. “

Too often stories about women of color who contributed in great ways to their community are not told. Shizue Iwatsuki was a woman of great strength who was also an artist and a community leader. It also speaks to her endurance first as an immigrant who becomes a naturalized citizen and then later as a survivor of a wrongful incarceration during a shameful period of American history."

Tickets are Pay what you Wish, with a suggested price of $35 and a minimum price of $5.

To reserve tickets visit Portland Opera's website.