A BRISBANE singer has written a remarkable opera about a little-known chapter of our military past – when the first Australian Army nurses were sent to the war in Vietnam.
Elizabeth Lewis wrote The Nurses at Vung Tau to premiere in Brisbane on June 23, as a tribute to Vietnam veterans and the 43 women who worked tirelessly to help their patients recover and return home to their families.
As a mother of two young children, classically-trained soprano and librettist, Ms Lewis, said she was struck by the resilience she read about in Annabelle Brayley’s book Our Vietnam Nurses.
After interviewing many of the nurses formerly stationed at the Vung Tau hospital base, Ms Lewis knew she had a powerful story to bring to the stage.
“How anyone can continue to function in such a hostile and stressful environment and especially when some of the nurses had brothers who were fighting, or someone from their hometown came in for treatment,” she said.
“To see someone in a pretty horrific state from being shot or blasted with a landmine is very confronting – but they kept helping people and turning up and doing what was needed.”
Production of The Nurses at Vung Tau coincides with the 60th Anniversary of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War – a conflict that saw many veterans shunned on their return to Australia, despite their courage and service.
Ms Lewis started her research in 2019 while studying and working during a four-year stint in the United States.
During a holiday break back in Australia, she conducted some of the initial interviews with former Vung Tau nurses, then continued her research from her bases in Chicago and Fargo in the frozen tundra country of North Dakota.
Ms Lewis discovered that the nurses in Vung Tau served close to the frontline – about ten minutes by army helicopter – yet remarkably, they had a 99.3 per cent success in keeping soldiers alive.
“That’s incredible considering the level of injuries they were dealing with, but also considering the facilities they had to work in,” she said.
Her interviews with former nurses also revealed that serving in Vietnam had deep, lifelong impacts.
“No one ever talked about it. And often the nurses just got forgotten about because there were so few of them and well, they weren’t on the frontline, so, why would they have PTSD?” Ms Lewis said.
“Well, they saw the product of the frontline and had to put these guys back together. Of course, they are going to be affected by that.
“Like a lot of our Vietnam vets, they just went into hiding in plain sight because they didn’t want to discuss what they had seen or what had happened to them. Because it was just too painful.
“When I interviewed some of the women, and some of the other vets, we would take breaks, because it was clear they were reliving what they were telling me.
“My intention was never to dredge up painful memories. I really wanted to just show that we appreciated what they did and to tell their story with their input.”
The opera follows the story of Abigail Hughes (Abby) and her fellow nurses – all fictitious characters – but based on the experiences of nurses interviewed for the project.
Just as Abby is heading off to Vietnam, Tom, a young man from her hometown is conscripted and soon ends up on the battlefield. Later he ends up in triage.
“The work encompasses a range of emotions from pathos and anger to humour through the dramatic events of the story,” Ms Lewis said.
“We feel audiences will be able to relate to the characters and really empathize with Abby and the nurses’ experiences.”
Ms Lewis originally wrote The Nurses at Vung Tau as a set of 10 poems intended as a song cycle for solo soprano and piano.
However, at the urging of renowned composer Brenton Broadstock, she turned the work into a full chamber opera.
Mr Broadstock composed the music for the work.
“Brenton has written a really beautiful, melodic, evocative score to accompany the imagery we’re using,” Ms Lewis said.
“It really sets the scene, and you can definitely hum something when you leave the theatre.”
On stage, film and digital projection is woven into the production to connect past and present.
As a singer and writer, Ms Lewis said her husband and parents were pivotal in enabling her musical career from her early studies at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, to a decade of performing in Australia and internationally.
She counts her father John Lewis, a Catholic school teacher in Brisbane for 40 years, as one of her many dedicated supporters.
“If not for my family’s support and encouragement over the years I don’t think I’d be able to do what I do,” she said.
The Nurses at Vung Tau”– a new and contemporary opera – will play at the Honour Room, Foundation Building, Somerville House, South Brisbane, from June 23-26. Tickets are available here.
