Nuclear is a chamber opera based on the ‘nuclear family,’ a propagandized ideology from the post-WWII era. Nuclear portrays a small family, representative of the American Dream, in a darkly comedic, surreal vignette built from a romanticized exaggeration of traditional American values. The characters, triggered by a looming feeling of dread, gradually begin to question their reality and descend into chaos and darkness as toxic masculinity, paranoia (reminiscent of the Red Scare), and a repressed need for individuality seep through the filter of conservative social expectations. The nuclear family, blown apart, is ultimately an allegory of the failures of modern American culture.

Duration: ~15’00”

Mother: Kenzie Hengler

Father: Nicholas Kottman

Son: Bailey Maxfield

Directed by Katherine Pracht Phares

Bowling Green State University

Recorded February 2021