An American Soldier

America at its best is a nation based on the belief that people who may not look alike, worship the same way or come from the same background are all capable of believing in and defending the American dream. Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang's opera An American Soldier is inspired by an incident when soldiers refused to accept one of their own because of the way he looked. Danny Chen was born in New York's Chinatown and enlisted in the Army after high school. During basic training he was welcomed as another true patriot, willing to fight and die for his country. But when he arrives in Afghanistan, he quickly learns his Chinese-American background doesn't sit well with his racist superiors, who repeatedly and sometimes violently abuse him under the guise of "hazing." The world premiere of the full-length version of An American Soldier gets underway at 7 p.m. tonight at the Loretto-Hilton Center (130 Edgar Road; www.opera-stl.org). The show is performed five more times in repertory through Friday, June 22.