New Opera Immortalizes Tragedy of Chinese-American Soldier

In October of 2011, a Chinese-American soldier serving in Afghanistan was found shot dead in an apparent suicide after weeks of abuse by his fellow servicemen. An investigation showed that 19-year-old Danny Chen had been the subject of racial slurs and abusive treatment, including excessive guard duty and torturous exercises, accompanied by beating and taunting by other soldiers. The tragedy of the young man is the subject of a new opera titled An American Soldier Zlatica Hoke attended a rehearsal and has this preview.