Multiculturalism
Mainstage Programming
Ouroboros Trilogy
The story of a white snake demon who longs to become human to experience love
Premiered February 26th, 2010, Cutler Majestic Theater, Boston
“Madame White Snake”
Zhou Long, composer
Cerise Lim Jacobs, librettist
“Naga”
Scott Wheeler, composer
Cerise Lim Jacobs, librettist
“Gilgamesh”
Paola Prestini, composer
Cerise Lim Jacobs
Synopsis
Madame White Snake, the 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, is the story of a white snake demon who longs to become human to experience love. She transforms into a woman, meets Xu Xian, a mortal man and marries him. But she is afraid to disclose her true identity. She encounters the Abbot of the Golden Mountain Monastery who recognizes her as his arch nemesis – the snake. The Abbot sows the seeds of doubt in Xu’s mind and gives him a “truth potion” which re-transforms her back into a snake. The Abbot spirits away Xu and the White Snake raises the waters to drown the Abbot to get him back. A great flood engulfs the world; she is defeated by the Abbot after giving birth to a son.
MONKEY: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable
An Ancient Wizard of Oz Tale for Our Times
Premiered February 26th, 2010, Cutler Majestic Theater, Boston
Jorge Sosa, composer
Cerise Lim Jacobs, librettist
Synopsis
MONKEY: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable, is a family friendly transmedia opera combining Bunraku puppetry, computer generated images, and live opera. MONKEY is based on the Chinese quest saga, “Journey to the West,” rewritten to reflect contemporary issues from the multicultural mosaic of American life. Besides the two fundamental operatic elements of text and music, the three main characters – Monkey, Pig (Zhu), and Sandwoman (Sha) – are life sized Bunraku puppets. MONKEY delves into the world of computer generated technology through the use of CGI environs and avatars. Live singers on stage will be the voices of the puppets and avatars.
Community Programming
Sing Out Strong: Essential Voices
On Zoom | December 19, 2020
Our ongoing series where we reach out to individuals in our community to create texts on activist themes.
We’ve collected stories from essential workers about their experiences working on the front lines – from medical personnel, hospital housekeepers, grocery store workers, delivery people, and others. We’ve heard about what they do, how they’ve been coping, their hopes, their fears, their families and their despair – anything they’re moved to write about. We’ve paired their texts with composers to make songs about working in pandemic times so that the rest of us can be safe.
Voting Resources
Voter registration time takes an average of two minutes or less to complete.
Movement Voter Fund helps funders deploy resources for greatest impact, by investing in grassroots groups working to advance democracy, equity, and sustainability in the United States.
The Massachusetts Voter Table advances civic access, engagement, and representation to increase resources and power for people of color and working-class people toward achieving a multiracial democracy. The Massachusetts Voter Table is committed to a long-term organizing strategy that advances their vision of a more democratic and equitable society.