Dreams Of 1,300 Chicago Youth Expressed In New Opera Premiering This June

By Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg, author & poet

In 2014, an opera singer, a poet, and a teacher are coming out of a Unity Temple (Oak Park, IL) coffeehouse when the singer says, "Let's create an opera with underserved youth." This is story of how singer Christine Steyer, Diane Piette, a Chicago teacher at Nicholas Senn High School, and myself, an author and poet, began the journey that results in a world premiere of Future Perfect almost eight years later.

Christine had the brilliant idea to gather performers, musicians, and poets to bring creative workshops to the classroom where the students' imagination could be fueled and the basis of their own opera could be laid.

Walking into the classroom that first day in January 2014, I had the opportunity to share my poetry and to suggest writing prompts on topics such as diversity, labels, the racial divide, and how to transcend it. The day proved to be one of my most rewarding experiences as a poet. To be able to work with students who poured so much emotion onto the page is something I will never forget. Youth coming from gun violence, broken homes, and feeling isolated or singled out, were able to express their inner thoughts through writing. These writings in turn became the words used to create the lyrics sung in this beautiful opera, Future Perfect.

One of the first songs composed by David Shenton and created by Christine Steyer from the students' texts was "Transcendence." I remember some of the words of this powerful piece being delivered for the first time by students as they shared their poems in Ms. Piette's classroom. I cry every time I hear this song, to think how it was created by these amazing students.

Two weeks ago, I witnessed the first run-through of Future Perfect. I heard some of my prompts such as "Labels" and "Colors" and the students' words tethered to voices singing so brilliantly. The libretto drew me deep into the heart of this work with its deliberate openness. The delicate and vibrant balance of interconnectedness and adversity brings Future Perfect to the threshold of beginnings. This musical theatre work reveals our youth who will soon be our future.

Future Perfect recreates a place of despair and magnificent beauty at the same time. Many of us live a life that is an illusion; many of us do not realize the restrictions under which we are living. The character Miranette chooses to break the barriers and transcends into an imaginary land filled with beauty and wonder. She chooses not to comply to the rigid regulations that often require us to box ourselves in a certain way of living. Her silence speaks louder than words and reaches deep within her longing to find a a better way.

Miranette embarks on a journey, brave in her belonging, vulnerable in giving from her heart. The storyline reveals so many allegorical meanings to the realities of life. The characters were given extraordinary names and roles in her life. What seems to fray upon most of our lives is finding our identity. We lose ourselves when we are criticized instead of listened to, like so many of our youth feel. The libretto brings so much passion to the storyline, ethereal yet fun, as most children surely express.

Steyer and Shenton bring an amazing movement of music to words composed by the youth of Chicago, but more than that, they bring a longing for humanity, to the beauty of life as it should be. They have profoundly gifted us with a powerful and breathtaking opera. I cannot express enough, during the climate of these often dark and turbulent times, how important it is to see and hear the message conveyed by Future Perfect-a modern tale of curiosity. It clearly reaches out to say to the world, our change has come, we will emerge from the chrysalis like the butterfly and we will fly free. This opera is a must-see! I encourage all to come, all ages, and races, from all walks of life and faiths. Come with open hearts, open minds, but most of all come with a knowing that we are all connected together, we belong to each other, to this fabric of life.

Tickets and Information can be found at: https://workinginconcert.org/futureperfect

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