Amira: A Modern Opera is a musical about love, discovery and forgiveness against all odds. In the story, Jason, a young American soldier stationed in Belgium during World War II, experiences a series of events that forever changes his outlook on life over the course of three days. Amira explores ideas concerning loyalty and hope to communicate a story that embraces life and happiness, no matter the cost.
Written over the course of three years and undergoing multiple rewrites, Amira is an experiment in the creative aspect of theatrical production. Licensed under a Creative Commons license, the source material and studio recordings of Amira can be freely shared and reproduced for non-commercial purposes. In addition, the show can be produced in small-scale non-profit environments without any licensing or material fees whatsoever. Larger and for-profit productions can be arranged as well.
Last updated 10 March 2009
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Amira is the story of love, self-discovery, and forgiveness during a time of immense war. Jason, a young American soldier, is stationed in Belgium during the winter of 1944. He and his comrades are fairly new to war, and have only been fighting for a matter of months. As the story begins, Jason and his good friend David are sent into town to request more supplies. The two men decide to take a shortcut, and end up going in the wrong direction. Off in the distance, they see a small stone cabin.
As the two men approach, David offers to look around the area for any signs of where they are. Jason, ever curious, knocks on the door of the small home. Not hearing any reply, he opens the door and walks in. Huddled in the corner is a young and frightened woman. Jason states that he is an American, and finds out that she assumed he was a German. Amira, a young Belgian woman, has been living in the cabin for many weeks now, and had yet to have any outsiders find her home. During all this, Jason hasn’t once taken his eyes off of Amira. And Amira can’t stop smiling.
David returns to tell Jason that all the roads are blocked, and that they must head back to camp immediately. Jason promises to come back as soon as possible as he and Amira part. On the way back from Amira’s cabin, Jason tells David of his new love. David warns Jason to forget about Amira, however, as she would only get in the way of their purpose for being there. David argues that duty and country come before life and love, and says that he has an obligation to uphold. Jason, nevertheless, upholds his newfound feelings. Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Amira questions how a man like Jason could ever love her.
Shortly thereafter, Jason and David stumble upon a group of German soldiers sitting still in a clearing. As they approach, Jason realizes that the men had died, and were abandoned in the cold. David thinks nothing of it, but Jason is scarred by what he sees. Arguing that all men deserve respect, he then implores the prospect of his own death. Seeing two withered flowers by his side, he picks them, laying one on the body of one of the soldiers, and tucking the other inside his coat.
Jason and David continue onward, returning to their camp to find the area empty. Noticing blood just under the freshly fallen snow, Jason finds his fellow soldiers dead and frozen. Barely able to assess the situation, Jason has no time to mourn as David grabs hold of him, and pulls him back into the safety of the dense forest. The two head back toward Amira’s cabin, and as they arrive, Jason collapses to the ground in despair. Amira rushes outside towards him to help. As Jason comes to his senses, he realizes that what he’s doing as a soldier is wrong. This being his first real encounter with the death of those he cares for, he fails to see the purpose of it. Questioning his dedication to his country, Jason declares he will never again return to the battlefield. This declaration angers David, who leaves after deciding he would be better off without Jason’s radical ideas.
Night has fallen. Knowing that they are now in German-occupied territory, Jason takes watch outside the cabin. Amira wakes up and joins him outside in the cold. The two speak of their newfound personal freedom, and of hope for the future. Amira tells Jason that, if they leave as soon as possible, they might be able to flee the country safely.
Amira heads back inside to sleep until morning. Not long after, Jason hears a noise close by. He readies his rifle and heads towards the shed near the edge of the clearing. In the bright moonlight, Jason can make out a figure that looks to be a German. Not seeing the point in more violence, Jason raises his weapon and whispers to the man in an attempt to scare him off. The man raises his arms, then begs for mercy. Jason finds out that the man, Russell, is a German soldier who barely escaped being killed, and who now wishes to never return to battle. He has been running for nearly a day, and having lost his coat, is now shivering uncontrollably. Jason, finding sympathy for the man, promises to help him. The two realize that the only difference between them is the uniforms they wear. Not wanting to wake Amira but also not wanting to leave Russell alone in his fragile state, Jason puts his coat over Russell and, in a passionate manner, holds him in his arms as they both sleep for the rest of the night.
In the morning, Jason awakes to find Russell still sleeping. He goes inside and wakes Amira to tells her of Russell, asking if he can stay with them and wait out the fighting. Amira, trusting Jason, agrees. Jason then leaves to return to Russell, and to bring him some food.
Jason returns to the shed to find it empty. Realizing that he could not have gone far, Jason heads off into the woods to find Russell. Russell, however, is ashamed of his vulnerability, and this friendship he has now formed with the ‘enemy.’ Jason assures him that there is nothing to fear, and the two make a promise of friendship to one another. After, Jason tells Russell to meet him at Amira’s cabin later in the day to pack for their journey.
Meanwhile, David has finally made it to town, but finds it has already been overtaken by German soldiers. He steals what food he can find, then with no other plausible options, decides to head back to Jason and persuade him to journey back into allied territory. Along the way, he momentarily wonders if Jason’s notions were right. He becomes frustrated and angry with himself, however, and reaffirms his belief of cultural superiority to an immense degree, blaming the Germans for the war and his problems.
Back at the cabin, Amira begins packing her belongings for the journey ahead of them. As she chooses what to keep and what to leave behind, she suddenly comes to the realization that Jason might not be right for her. Though she doubts her feelings, she decides to still go along with Jason, as she realizes it might be her only chance to find freedom.
The sun begins to set. Jason explores his new-found emotions and where his life has led as he returns to Amira’s cabin. At the edge of the clearing, he encounters Russell, who quickly becomes angry with himself. After much struggle, he finally admits that, as a soldier in the German army, he had sent men to their deaths merely because of their beliefs. He can barely live with himself, knowing that he has now become the very thing he once despised. Jason, however, comforts and forgives him, assuring him that his actions were that of the army, and not of himself. Russell comes to terms with his feelings, but tells Jason to forget him and to not “leave flowers on his grave” if he doesn’t make it out of the country alive.
Moments later, Jason, Russell and Amira all come together for the first time to pack what belongings Amira still has. An understanding is found between the three, who vow to help each other in the face of so many factors trying to keep them apart. Jason, however, is conflicted by his new-found feelings towards Russell. As he is about to tell Amira the truth about he and Russell, David returns to the cabin. David, upon noticing Russell as a German soldier, draws his pistol. Jason approaches David, attempting to calm him and explain what is going on. As he begins to speak, David interrupts him. In a last attempt to stop him, Jason launches himself towards David, but it is too late. David fires his gun, but just as he does so, Amira jumps towards Russell and embraces him in an instinctive act of protection. The bullet strikes Amira as Jason launches towards her, catching her as she falls to the floor. Trying to regain himself, David draws his weapon once again towards Russell, firing a second bullet directly into Russell as Jason cries out “No!” in anguish. As Russell falls to the ground and the dust settles, Jason cries over the bodies of the only two people he has ever loved. As he pulls Russell closer toward himself, a letter falls out of his coat. Picking it up, Jason realizes that it is addressed to Russell’s wife in the event that he failed to make it out alive.
Meanwhile, shocked and confused by what has just happened, David stumbles out of the tiny stone house and begins running as fast as he can into the forest, stopping in a small clearing covered with a fresh dusting of snow. Struggling to come to terms with what he has just done, David cries over what he has become. He can’t stand to live any longer, and fails to comprehend how anyone could possibly forgive him for his wrongdoings. He pulls out his pistol, and tries to point the barrel in his mouth, but his frantic state prevents him from pulling the trigger. In a final howl of rage, he points his gun towards the sky, and fires his last bullet into thin air.
It is morning, and a mist lingers in the air. Jason has buried Amira and Russell in humble graves by Amira’s now abandoned home. Rather than being saddened, Jason finds peace in his denouncement of all he thought was true. He realizes that these people he knew for such a short time will always be with him, and that no one is ever truly alone. With tears in his eyes, he reaches into his coat, pulls out the withered flower, and lays it humbly on Russell’s grave. Slinging his pack of belongings over his shoulder, he solemnly walks off towards the distance.
(Last Revised on 1 June 2009)
Music
Music, orchestrations, lyrics and story by Gary Barnes.
Album recording and mixing also by Gary Barnes.
Studio Cast Album Vocals:
Jason - Gary Barnes
Amira - Chanell Tyce
Russell - Conor Tibbs
David - Marshall Voit
Photography
Promotional photography by Gary Barnes.
Modeling by Chanell Tyce, Gary Barnes.
Site Credits
Design by Gary Barnes, built upon the default Wordpress theme.
All historical images are believed to be in the public domain, with post-processing work by Gary Barnes.
Previous Revisions
Thanks to all who contributed to the 2007 early concept album and promotional stills, including Rebekah Helms, Marshall Voit, Ryan Davidson, Abby Frisch, Kathreen Tzathas, and Conor Tibbs.
