Madame White Snake

Opera Boston Presents the World Premiere of Madame White Snake

Madame White Snake

Zhou Long
Libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs
World Premiere: February 26, 2010, Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston.

Madame White Snake: Ying Huang*, soprano
Little Green: Michael Maniaci*, male soprano
Xu Xian: John McVeigh*, tenor
Abbot Fahai: Dong-Jian Gong*, bass

Conducted by Gil Rose
Directed by Robert Woodruff*

Sung in English with projected titles

Soprano Ying Huang makes her Opera Boston debut in the title role of Madame White Snake, a powerful snake demon who takes human form to experience love. Notable among Ms. Huang’s many achievements are her creation of the role of Du Liniang in Tan Dun’s Peony Pavilion and her film debut as Cio-Cio San in Frédéric Mitterrand’s film Madama Butterfly. Ms. Huang made her Metropolitan Opera debut during the 2006-2007 season in the role of Pamina in the new English language version of The Magic Flute. She starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s first simulcast into movie theaters throughout the world.

Male soprano Michael Maniaci creates the role of Little Green, a green snake who is Madame White Snake’s servant, and who undergoes a similar transformation. Following Mr. Maniaci’s overwhelming success as Tirinto in Glimmerglass Opera’s production of Handel’s Imeneo, Anthony Tommasini stated in The New York Times, “The amazing male soprano Michael Maniaci [is] headed for a major career.” Previous Boston appearances include the title role in Handel’s Serse and Nerone in Handel’s Agrippina with Boston Baroque.

Tenor John McVeigh makes his Boston debut as Xu Xian, a scholar who falls in love with Madame White after a chance meeting, and whose suspicion of her drives him to question her true identity. Mr. McVeigh is frequently heard in Baroque and early Classical works, as well as twentieth-century works by Britten, Floyd, and Thomson.

Bass Dong-Jian Gong makes his Boston debut as the Abbot Fahai, an old adversary of Madame White Snake who undermines her husband’s fidelity and brings about her betrayal. Mr. Gong has made a specialty of the role of Kublai Khan in Tan Dun’s Marco Polo and appeared as Han Xizai in the world premiere of Guo Wenjing's Night Banquet with the Hong Kong Arts Festival. He performed the role of Laohan in the world premiere of Qu Xiao-song's Life on a String with the Kunsten Festival des Arts in Brussels, as well as in Paris, Lisbon, at the Edinburgh Festival, and with Zeitgenossiche Opera in Berlin.

Robert Woodruff is an internationally acclaimed director of theater and opera. He has served as either director or associate artist with some of the country’s most significant crucibles of innovation in the field of performance, including the Eureka Theater, the Mark Taper Forum, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and the American Repertory Theatre. He frequently collaborates with such artists as Rinde Eckert, Philip Glass, Charles Mee, and Sam Shepard and is among the foremost international directors of Shakespeare and Brecht. Mr. Woodruff’s work has been seen in festivals in Edinburgh, Spoleto, Sydney, Jerusalem, and Brooklyn.

Composer Zhou Long, was recently cited by the New York Times as one of the leading Chinese composers charged with “injecting a new vitality into the American classical music scene.” Previous compositions include “Four Seasons” for unaccompanied chorus, “Two poems from Tang” for orchestra, and “Five Elements” and “Rites of Chimes” for blended ensembles of Chinese and Western instruments. Madame White Snake is his first opera.

Librettist Cerise Lim Jacobs was born in colonial Singapore into a traditional Chinese family. She now lives in Brookline, Mass. She received her degree in creative writing from the University of Pittsburgh and her law degree from Harvard Law School. She recently retired as a trial attorney and returned to creative writing. Madame White Snake is her first opera libretto.