The Source

The Source is a modern-day oratorio with a primary-source libretto, its resonance even more timely today than when it premiered to rave reviews 10 years ago. The subject is Chelsea Manning, the US Army Private who infamously leaked hundreds of thousands of classified military documents to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks in 2010.

The text, culled and arranged by librettist Mark Doten, sets Manning's words alongside sections of the classified material known as the Iraq War Logs and Afghan War Diary. The score is composed by Ted Hearne. 

The music, like the text, draws from diverse sources. Auto-tuned recitatives, neo-soul ballads, icy string trios and moments of obstreperous musical theater are peppered with (and sometimes structured around) samples that bridge sonic worlds.

Staging and theatrical concept by Daniel Fish and video design by Fish and Jim Findlay places the audience in a theater surrounded by hyperrealistic yet larger-than-life faces. We are watching them watch something -- but what? Said The New York Times, "The Source prompts dinner-table debates and lingers in the mind."  

The Source was presented at BAM Next Wave in 2014, LA Opera in 2016 and San Francisco Opera in 2017. A revived production and European premiere takes place at Festival Musica Strasbourg in September 2024. In an age of crumbled faith in institutions, The Source is a poignant confrontation of the powers that be – one that finds the audience questioning their own position within structures of violence.