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SYNOPSIS
Act1
- Images
London
-
Palestine
.
The
opera follows the fate of Leila , a Palestinian poetess studying in
London
where she lives with her partner Daniel Xavier, a Jewish composer , for
whom she is writing a libretto. The post 9/11world and the
'
war on terror' however , drag her into political activism and then towards
'martyrdom'. She leaves Daniel for the
Middle East
, plunging him into despair , the shock making him go blind. She is drawn
towards Al
Qaeda but Leila's fellow militant , Mohammed , who falls under her spell ,
understands this is not the true Leila and, in a moment of revelation
realizes that her power of creativity and her poetic vision is a greater
power than that of violence. Leila is never
to commit any terrorist crimes.
In a
counter revolutionary spirit Mohammed decides to save Leila from herself '
for Islam and for Man' , seeing a non violent way forward within the
loving heart of his beliefs. He betrays her
to US forces and offers himself as a double agent , declaring at
the end of Act 1, to his own surprise , '
I love life more than I love death'.
Act2
- Dance Music
The
White House-
Afghanistan
-
Guantanamo
.
In the
near future world of the opera the President , a woman , President
Hillary , and the CIA Director muse idly about their ambitions after the
Inaugural Ball. Mr. Director shocks the President by telling her she can
become ' the first American Emperor '. Mohammed is tortured in
Guantanamo
in scenes (written in early 2003) which anticipate the sexual abuse of Abu
Ghraib. The struggle between the President and The CIA Director develops.
President Hillary , in a display of conscience , expresses misgivings
about attacking
Arabian
States
, and fears ' as a mother for the children of
Arabia
'. Mr.Director, a fanatical
advocate of ' the New American Century',
impatiently 'explains' to her that ‘ the oil resources
belong to the world'. He thrusts the documents of war towards her
and insists ' You will sign the authorization' but they are interrupted by
the sudden arrival of Mohammed who they believe is a ' big catch' who will
extract secrets from the Guantanamo detainees. Mohammed's true motive
though is simply to follow Leila to
Guantanamo
where she is imprisoned.
Act
3 - The Heights
Guantanamo
-
London
.
Mohammed is duly dispatched to
Guantanamo
. Here he meets a guard who has been responsible for Leila. At the opening
of Act 3 the guard brutalizes Leila , but then , transformed by her
singing of her mother's garden --' there is a tree in my mother's garden
for many a century , green and rich in foliage. Now a sandstorm has
stripped it of its bark and stripped it of life' ,-- he collapses in
remorse and , in an act of contrition , washes her feet. By the time
Mohammed arrives Leila is dead by her own hand. The guard gives Mohammed a
manuscript , Leila’s libretto completed in captivity.
In a gesture of reconciliation with the composer Daniel , Leila's
Jewish partner , Mohammed takes the manuscript back to London
.
Dawn
in Daniel's
London
studio.
As the
sun rises little by little Daniel's sight miraculously returns.(' They
keep coming , these threads , and yet there is joy in my tears' ).Then ,
in the flood of brilliant light , Mohammed arrives and hands Daniel the
libretto. Daniel reads on the front the words ' Manifest Destiny'.
Mohammed tells him
' In
it she has written: " we have this choice :death or love" '.
Leila's libretto , a vision of peace in a world beyond strife , will be
Daniel's new opera , the work the audience has just seen , as it were ,
this very opera , Manifest Destiny. The circle is complete and Daniel , a
Jew , and Mohammed , a Palestinian , embrace in tragedy and hope.
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