Welcome to the website of composer and writer Derrick Wang.
Welcome to the website of composer and writer Derrick Wang.
“Could we please make it a constitutional requirement that no one can be sworn into office in the White House or Congress without having first seen Scalia/Ginsburg?”
—Los Angeles Times
inspired by the opinions of U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia
and by the “operatic precedent” of
Händel, Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Offenbach, Bizet, Sullivan, Puccini, Strauss, et al.
Video: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explains Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg. (Source: Bloomberg / The David Rubenstein Show.)
Video: Curtain call at the 2019 OperaDelaware production of Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg. Scalia/Ginsburg set a box-office record as the highest-grossing performance in the company’s 74-year history.
Scalia/Ginsburg is the American opera by composer-librettist Derrick Wang that ushered in the era of Supreme Court-themed art.
A comedy about friendship in a divided world, inspired by the words of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, Scalia/Ginsburg was first heard at the Supreme Court of the United States before its world premiere production at renowned conductor Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival. Revised after the passing of Justice Scalia, Scalia/Ginsburg received a sold-out production in 2017 at The Glimmerglass Festival. In 2019, OperaDelaware’s mainstage opening of Scalia/Ginsburg became the highest-grossing performance in the company’s 74-year history.
Justices Ginsburg and Scalia themselves wrote forewords to Derrick Wang’s libretto, an early version of which was published in the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts and excerpted in Justice Ginsburg’s 2016 book My Own Words.
Kicking off 2020 with a sold-out run at Opera Naples, Scalia/Ginsburg will be performed across the United States throughout this election year. (See the “Tickets” section for dates and links to listings; see “Productions” for further information.)
More dates TBA. Productions are independently produced.
“A perfect…jewel” (Opera Today)
“Brilliant…gorgeous” (DC Theatre Scene)
“Funny, exceedingly clever” (Above the Law)
“Tuneful…accessible…smart…a triumph” (The American Interest)
“A buoyant piece with a deeply serious core” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
“Laser-accurate…top-notch” (Classical Voice North America)
“Engaging…plays cleverly [with] musical wit” (Wall Street Journal)
“Sassy” (Naples Daily News)
“A fiercely entertaining crash course on the U.S. Constitution and the people who uphold it.…Who knew that an opera audience could holler and cheer like it was the Super Bowl?” (Broad Street Review)
“Could we please make it a constitutional requirement that no one can be sworn into office in the White House or Congress without having first seen Scalia/Ginsburg?” (Los Angeles Times)
“We are different. We are one”: the 2019 OperaDelaware production of Scalia/Ginsburg. L to R: Jennifer Zetlan (Justice Ginsburg), Brian Cheney (Justice Scalia), Ben Wager (The Commentator). Photo: Justin Heyes, Moonloop Photography.
Illustration by David Parkins
Click/tap any of the headings below (denoted by the + symbol) for more details.
Scalia/Ginsburg is a one-hour English-language comic opera suitable for both mainstage and intimate venues, with a cast of three singers, flexible scenic demands, and accompaniment by either chamber orchestra or 7-player small ensemble.
Written on a contemporary American topic, composed in a highly accessible musical language, and featuring numerous references to famous operas, Scalia/Ginsburg is intended to delight first-time and long-time opera- and theatergoers alike.
For a full program of comedic English-language opera about the law, consider beginning the evening with Gilbert & Sullivan’s half-hour comedy Trial by Jury, which features not only compatible instrumentation but also opportunities for young artists (who can star in Trial by Jury, understudy/cover the principal roles in Scalia/Ginsburg, and/or optionally appear as supernumeraries in Scalia/Ginsburg).
“It’s close to divine inspiration to pair a Gilbert & Sullivan farce on the justice system with Scalia/Ginsburg, the sassy work on the Supreme Court’s unlikeliest friendship.” —Naples Daily News
Orchestra:
To inquire about a license to produce Scalia/Ginsburg, visit the Contact page and complete the form “I want to produce ‘Scalia/Ginsburg’”.
What happens when Supreme Court Justices go before a Higher Power? In this operatic comedy, Justices Ginsburg and Scalia must pass through three cosmic trials to secure their freedom. The catch: they may have to agree on the Constitution. Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg is a valentine to law and opera, where the law’s leading players go toe-to-toe and trill-to-trill in a (gentle) parody of operatic proportions. Opinions will be offered. Dissents will be delivered. And justice will be sung.
Justices Ginsburg and Scalia wrote prefaces to Derrick Wang’s libretto [script], an early version of which was published in 2015 by the Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts. Excerpts from the libretto are republished in Justice Ginsburg’s 2016 book My Own Words as the chapter “The Scalia/Ginsburg Opera,” the audiobook version of which is narrated and performed by Derrick Wang from New York’s Steinway Hall.
After the passing of Justice Scalia, the libretto was revised for the 2017 production of Scalia/Ginsburg at The Glimmerglass Festival. The revised edition of the libretto will be published in 2020 in honor of the opera’s five-year anniversary.
A buddy comedy with an operatic twist, Scalia/Ginsburg reflects the witty style of its subjects by applying “operatic precedent.” Like a Supreme Court opinion, the score of Scalia/Ginsburg is a mosaic of allusions to influential statements of the past.
MUSICAL NUMBERS:
On June 27, 2013, the day after the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, composer-librettist Derrick Wang appeared at the Supreme Court to present selections from his new opera, Scalia/Ginsburg.
For more information, listen to Nina Totenberg’s coverage of the Supreme Court presentation — and see Derrick Wang’s TEDxBroadway talk on his journey with Scalia/Ginsburg from the Supreme Court to the stage.
In July 2015, the world premiere production of Scalia/Ginsburg took place at the Castleton Festival, founded by renowned conductor Lorin Maazel in Castleton, Virginia.
(MSNBC reports that Justice Ginsburg attended and said, “I had a wonderful time. I loved every minute of it.”)
Get the inside scoop on Derrick Wang's new opera Scalia/Ginsburg from Justice Ginsburg herself! #OperaConf
Posted by OPERA America on Wednesday, May 13, 2015
MSNBC’s Irin Carmon reports from the world premiere of Derrick Wang’s comic opera Scalia/Ginsburg — and interviews Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after the performance. (Duration: 1:34)
MSNBC's Irin Carmon and Emily Drew take a backstage look at the world premiere of Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg — and interview U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after the performance. (Duration: 1:48)
Audience members react after the sold-out world premiere of Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg at the Castleton Festival founded by Lorin Maazel.
David Savage of the Los Angeles Times describes Derrick Wang's opera 'Scalia/Ginsburg' in a panel discussion with fellow Supreme Court correspondents from The Washington Post, Reuters, The New York Times, and the National Law Journal, moderated by Arthur Spitzer (Legal Director, ACLU of the National Capital Area). (Duration: 1:21)
In August 2017, Scalia/Ginsburg received its sold-out second production in a revised version at The Glimmerglass Festival, one of the largest summer opera festivals in the United States. Acclaimed tenor William Burden, celebrated for originating lead roles in major American operas, sang the role of Scalia. The final performance was followed by a discussion with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“He’s not my enemy. He’s my friend & then we sing a duet ”We are different, we are one." –Justice Ginsburg talks Justice Scalia #AspenAction pic.twitter.com/NZnZFLLt6T
— The Aspen Institute (@AspenInstitute) July 30, 2017
Scalia/Ginsburg has been featured extensively in worldwide media, including:
and articles and interviews in outlets including:
Scalia/Ginsburg has also been a featured topic on the ABC TV program Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ host Terry Crews asks a question about opera and the Supreme Court.
Composer-librettist Derrick Wang talks about his opera Scalia/Ginsburg with Bloomberg Law’s Spencer Mazyck.
At the 2014 Castleton Festival, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg applauds artists in a musical program featuring selections from the opera Scalia/Ginsburg. Scalia/Ginsburg was given its world premiere production at Castleton in July 2015. (Photo credit: Jess Bravin, via Twitter)
Illustration by David Parkins / The Economist
UPCOMING
March 7, 10 | 2020 | Tickets
Sandra Levine Theatre
Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement
Queens University of Charlotte
2319 Wellesley Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28207
March 14, 15m | 2020 | Tickets
Betty Van Andel Opera Center
1320 East Fulton, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
CAST
PRODUCTION
March 19, 20, 21m, 22m | 2020 | Tickets
UNLV Law School Moot Court
4505 S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89154
April 4 | 2020 | Tickets
Harrison Opera House
160 W. Virginia Beach Blvd, Norfolk, VA 23510
CAST
PRODUCTION
Double-bill with Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury (orchestration by Derrick Wang)
April 17, 18, 19m | 2020 | Tickets
Valentine Theatre
410 Adams St, Toledo, OH 43604
CAST
PRODUCTION
August 14, 16m | 2020 | Tickets
Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
CAST
PREVIOUS
Double-bill with Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury (orchestration by Derrick Wang)
January 24, 25 | 2020
Hushon Theatre at the Wang Opera Center
2408 Linwood Ave, Naples, FL 34112
CAST
PRODUCTION
Double-bill with Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury
April 28m & May 3 | 2019
The Grand Opera House
818 N Market St, Wilmington, DE 19801
CAST
PRODUCTION
October 12, 13 | 2018
Briggs Opera House
5 S Main St, White River Junction, VT 05001
October 14m | 2018
Dana Center for the Humanities
Saint Anselm College
100 St Anselm Dr, Manchester, NH 03102
CAST
PRODUCTION
August 4, 13 | 2017
Alice Busch Opera Theater [Mainstage]
The Glimmerglass Festival
7300 State Highway 80, Cooperstown, NY 13326
CAST
PRODUCTION
Double-bill with Ravel & Franc-Nohain’s L’heure espagnole
July 11, 17, 19m | 2015
Festival Theatre
Castleton Festival
7 Castleton Meadows Lane, Castleton, VA 22716
CAST
PRODUCTION
Listings refer to presentations of excerpts (unless otherwise specified).
