News
WSP Celebrates AAPI Heritage Month
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: This month, America celebrates AAPI Heritage Month. For those of us who identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander, we celebrate our heritage everyday. As an Asian American woman who emigrated from Singapore to the US, it’s an interesting phenomenon to celebrate, well,…
Cerise Jacobs on All Things Considered
Founding artist director of White Snake Projects and opera-maker Cerise Jacobs was featured on GBH’s All Things Considered this week with host Arun Rath. “What we want to do is to celebrate some of these diverse holiday traditions and introduce them to our neighbors and our friends and to…
Thanks for Celebrating with us 🥰
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: We are still heady from the gorgeous performances of Let’s Celebrate!, at WGBH’s Calderwood Studio. What a show! It was an occasion of many firsts for us – first time performing in a TV studio before a live studio audience, first time streaming live…
Announcing White Snake Project’s 2022/23 Season
Thanks to a recently announced $750k grant from the Mellon Foundation, Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects (WSP), are pleased to announce their first complete season of performances in 2022-23. Kicking off the season is Cosmic Cowboy, a poli sci-fi opera composed by award-winning MIT…
We Did It!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: We did it! We completed our three performance run of Cosmic Cowboy with no casualties to Covid-19 (thank you Sumerian gods, our Covid Health Liaison, Stephen Jackson, and our team who followed all the protocols). We only had to struggle, as always with our…
I Am A Dreamer Gets Pittsburgh Premiere
I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams is back! YAY! It’s opening in Pittsburgh October 14-16 and I cannot wait to see it again. Produced by Resonance Works and conducted by Dreamer conductor, Maria Sensi Sellner, it’s just as relevant…
White Snake Projects Wins $750,000 Mellon Grant
On the heels of their performances of Sing Out Strong: Remembered Voices, a musical commemoration of the overwhelming number of lives lost to the pandemic since the beginning of 2020, Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects (WSP), are pleased to announce…
White Snake Projects Presents “Sing Out Strong: Remembered Voices,” Tributes from Families Who Lost Loved Ones to COVID (March 11)
Since the start of the pandemic, Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, have been developing a trilogy of virtual operas revolving around populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19: essential workers, the incarcerated, and survivors of intimate partner violence.
The Pandemic Trilogy On Demand: January 21–February 28, 2022
We’re thrilled to announce we’re ringing in 2022 with The Pandemic Trilogy — Alice in the Pandemic, Death By Life and A Survivor’s Odyssey — on demand from January 21 through February 28. There’ll be lots of additional content including a documentary on the making…
Founder Cerise Lim Jacobs Named One of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals for 2021
White Snake Project’s founder and executive producer, Cerise Lim Jacobs, was named one of Musical America’s “Top 30 Professionals of the Year.” The theme for this year’s award is “The Pandemic: Meeting the Moment,” honoring artists who emerged as innovators and leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
White Snake Projects Presents Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, Including Writers from Virtual Opera Death by Life (Press Release)
Galvanized by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May of 2020, Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, developed the virtual opera Death by Life – exploring the intersection of systemic racism and mass incarceration with texts written by incarcerated writers and their families and a score…
Just Announced: “Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices” to Take Place November 20
The pandemic has changed our entire way of life. It has changed the way we work, recreate, eat, learn, teach, interact with friends and family. It has forced us to confront the fact that life is precarious, fragile and precious. It has exposed the great divide in American society,…
Tomorrow is Opening Night!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: It’s the day before! I’m in rehearsal now with the team as we put the finishing touches on this profoundly moving opera. The interconnectedness among the performers, despite the fact that they’re not in the same space, really speaks to the way that we’ve been…
Five Days Until Opening Night!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: It’s the week of! We’re counting the days until Friday, September 24 when we open A Survivor’s Odyssey. Time is zipping by and I wish for a few extra hours each day to run that scene again, to add hair on the pigs, to rebuild…
PROGRAM BOOK: A Survivor’s Odyssey
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: It’s been an amazing week! We just completed our three part activist forums created with our partners as part of the ecosystem in which world premiere opera, A Survivor’s Odyssey lives. Thank you audience members for coming on this journey of learning with us, and…
SYNOPSIS: A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe
[The story of Penelope and Circe alternates between the myths of their relationships with Odysseus in The Odyssey and present day reality of living in pandemic times, exploring what this means for those who face sexual violence.] World premiere virtual opera – September 24, 26 & 28.
Program Book: A Survivor’s Odyssey Online Forums
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful summer! Hopefully September will bring some spectacular sunny days. It will also bring the excitement of our world premiere of A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe. It’s the third installment of WSP’s Pandemic…
Tickets On Sale Now for “A Survivor’s Odyssey”
We’re excited to announce that tickets are now on sale for the third and final opera in White Snake Projects’ Pandemic Trilogy: A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe. Like the first two operas in the Trilogy, A Survivor’s Odyssey will premiere LIVE in cyberspace, at 7:30pm, September…
PermaDeath: What Does it Mean to Die Permanently?
It troubled me that my son came to White Snake Projects’ productions reluctantly from obligation. I asked him one day, “What would it take for you and your friends to really want to come see opera?” He replied, “If the experience could be like the opera scene in the…
Naga is an Opera News Critics’ Choice!
I remember back in 2014 when I first met Scott Wheeler. We had lunch together to talk about a potential collaboration on a new opera, Naga (Sanskrit for “protector snake.”) I told Scott that Naga…
REV. 23, Following Charles Through Heaven and Hell
I have Charles to thank (yet again) for REV. 23, an opera which explores heaven, hell and everything in between. I was wondering one day about where Charles was. It amused me that my incorrigible, irascible and impossible husband wouldn’t be caught dead (pardon the pun) in heaven (not…
Ouroboros Trilogy: Following the Ancient Snake Who Eats Its Tail
What’s crazier than two neophytes making a new opera? Making three of course, all connected by the ouroboros snake in an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Charles and I conceived of Ouroboros Trilogy – Naga, Madame White Snake, Gilgamesh – as a trio…
White Snake Projects Awarded Civic Practice Grant from Opera America
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: “A healing moment occurs for the person who has told you their story, but also for you as the one who has accepted the story,” said Murray Sinclair, Anishinaabe leader. We’re honored to share the news that White Snake Projects and its indigenous partners, including…
Madame White Snake, a Transformative Role Model
In 2005, I started to think about what I would give Charles for his 75th birthday. Charles never wanted “things;” but he was passionate about opera, so I commissioned a new music group to make a song cycle for him. The commission did not get off the ground. Panicked that I…
White Snake Projects at Five Years
A Loving Retrospective on Charles, the Visionary Who Made This Happen It’s coming up soon — White Snake Projects will be five years old in September. Neither Charles (husband, artistic partner, visionary, daredevil, risk taker, raconteur, impresario — you get the picture . . .) nor I ever…
Just Announced: A Survivor’s Odyssey Premieres September 24, 2021
Following the resounding success of the virtual opera Death by Life, treating the subjects of long-term incarceration and systemic racism, Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company White Snake Projects announce their third live virtual world premiere opera since the beginning of the pandemic. A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey…
“To Breathe” — A Virtual Exhibition Exploring Art & Imagination Inside Prisons
Featuring visual artworks by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, this virtual gallery, To Breathe, is part of White Snake Project’s Death By Life series on “Understanding and Responding to Mass Incarceration” in collaboration with the Pozen Center Human Rights Lab. The title of our virtual exhibition, To Breathe, was inspired by Renaldo…
Three Online Events Exploring Systemic Racism and Long-Term Incarceration (March 30, April 6 & 13)
Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, are pleased to announce three online events leading up to the premiere of their new virtual opera, Death By Life. Conceived as a monument of support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of…
Explore with us the intersection of mass incarceration & systemic racism
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: We are thrilled to announce three upcoming forums presented in partnership with the University of Chicago Human Rights Lab as a prelude to Death By Life. Each session will be free to attend and streamed over Zoom. Read about about each forum, and follow the links…
Back by popular demand: Alice in the Pandemic!
This unique show that changed the way opera is made digitally will be back for a limited time only: February 12- 28, 2021. For those who missed it when it premiered LIVE last year, here’s your chance to watch a recording of the live performance. For those who saw it…
White Snake Projects Announces New Virtual Opera “Death by Life”
Galvanized by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May, Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, began a process of development for a new production that would stand as a monument of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The result is the virtual…
Update on the Dreamers!
We hope this new year finds you safe and well. Now that the excitement of the inauguration has abated, I’d like to share with you some good news announced by our new President, just in case you missed it, regarding Dreamers, whom we’ve championed through our work in “I Am…
On Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: I’ll never forget my visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, a museum honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s in the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated as he leant over the balcony in front of his…
Happy New Year from White Snake Projects!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: May 2021 find you safe and warm. May we reunite one day with family and friends. And may you always savor the sweetness of life. With love from all of us at White Snake Projects,An Activist Opera Company.
Seasons Greetings from White Snake Projects!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: 2020 is almost over. Words seem inadequate to describe the momentous events we’ve lived through and continue to wrestle with – the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, national elections . . . We’ve lost our anchors of time and place, our livelihoods, education, friends and…
Thank you!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects:Thank you for coming to Sing Out Strong: Essential Voices, a world premiere concert celebrating essential workers by commissioning composers to set their stories and words to music. Seen and Heard International called the concert a “triumph of artistry and technology.” The full…
Announcing “Sing Out Strong: Essential Voices” (Press Release)
The October world premiere of White Snake Projects’ Alice in the Pandemic – a virtual opera bycreator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and composer Jorge Sosa – met with well-deserved praise from every corner, for its innovation and the possibilities it revealed for the future of digital opera production. Building…
SOS: Essential Voices Songs and Lyrics
Caring for our co-workers Based on text by Melhim Bou Alwan, music by Breezy Love When I shook her hand this morning to introduce myselfMy patient nearly cried when I wasn’t petrified to touch her.Within those first ten days as the sole physicianA…
PTSD Resources
Several audience members report being triggered by the issues explored in Alice in the Pandemic. We had a discussion about this at our Talk Back at our last show. As promised, here are a few links to Covid-19 mental health resources. Please reach out for help if you need to. …
A Letter to Our Friends
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: WE DID IT. Three times, we did it! Three amazing runs, all different, yet the same. Different because it’s LIVE performance and our artists are creating artistry in the moment; the same because we’re telling a universal story of living in pandemic times, journeying…
Reflections on Opening Night of “Alice”
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects:WE DID IT! We took maiden technology for its first outing and got to the end of the show with only a hiccup. We made a world premiere opera remotely. We synced our singers live to 3G animation and music. We are proud of ourselves,…
Q&A with Tian Hui Ng
For Tian Hui Ng, going digital has meant rethinking everything he knows about conducting. Find out how the Music Director of “Alice in the Pandemic” changed his techniques to bring Jorge Sosa’s music and Cerise Lim Jacobs’s libretto to life online. How has your work as…
First Dress Rehearsal for “Alice in the Pandemic
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: We had our first dress rehearsal last night! It was so gratifying to see the different elements of the show coalesce – from the 3D animations, projections, electronics, orchestra, and children’s chorus to the sheer artistry of our singers which brought the show to…
Students at Lesley Art + Design Respond to “Alice in the Pandemic”
We are so excited to share these beautiful designs, which were created for us by the talented students at Lesley Art + Design. Under the instruction of Animation Department Chair Catriona Baker and Professor Michael Talbot, the students were asked to create artistic responses to “Alice in the Pandemic.”…
Songwriters Selected for Sing Out Strong: Essential Voices
We’re proud to announce the songwriters for Sing Out Strong: Essential Voices, which will premiere in an ALL-LIVE concert in December 2020. Essential Voices continues to amplify the voices of essential workers — the heroes who are keep us safe through the pandemic — just as Alice in the Pandemic does. In SOS: Essential Voices, we…
White Snake Projects Premieres Alice in the Pandemic, Ambitious Virtual Opera Composed by Jorge Sosa (Oct 23–27)
On October 23–27, activist opera company White Snake Projects presents the world premiere of Alice in the Pandemic, a new virtual opera composed by Jorge Sosa. Led by creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs, the company has managed not only to quickly and ingeniously adapt to the changed performing arts environment, postponing until spring the originally slated premiere of composer…
Meet the Cast
In between rehearsals, intensive tech training, and avatar transfigurations, cast members Carami Hilaire (Alice) and Eve Gigliotti (Mrs. Lee, her mother) took a little time to share a bit about themselves and their experience making Alice during this very strange year. Carami Hilaire What made you want to be…
“Alice in the Pandemic,” Activism and Opera
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: We’re less than one month away from the premiere of Alice in the Pandemic and we’re still deep in pandemic times. The issues Jorge Sosa and I felt driven to write about are heightened, not lessened by time passing. As a mission driven company,…
Q&A With Curvin Huber
Meet White Snake Projects’ Director of Innovation Curvin Huber. In addition to his position as Professor of Interactive Media at Becker College, Curvin lends his design and technological expertise to many of White Snake Projects’ productions. Most recently, Curvin helped to create groundbreaking new motion capture technology for Alice…
It’s Time to Get Your Tickets!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgqN2-NzJYY Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: Today’s the day! Tickets for Alice in the Pandemic are on sale NOW! The premiere is October 23–27, 2020, and we can’t wait to share this show with you. We’ve spent a lot of time since lockdown thinking about how to re-create…
Michael, Max and Me
Remembering Michael Johnson From his wife, Sandra Johnson I met Michael online He was in the Bronx I was in Brazil After seven months of talking He flew to Brazil with a ring We were married for fifteen years I loved this dry tough…
Prison Lawyer
Remembering Eric William Warner By Hank Warner We grew up collecting pollywogs after big rains Eric and I Adventuring new horizons on bikes Imitating major leaguers in the schoolyard And singing along to “American Pie” Eric and I Life was simple Life was…
A Nap-By-The-Beach Kind of Guy
Remembering Mohammad Jawed By his daughters, Ghazal, Hannah and Fareen Our dad was born in Pakistan He became a doctor and settled in Corbin, Kentucky Where he practiced for 23 years He was game for just about anything I wanted to paint his toenails…
I Was Doing Time, Time Was Not Doing Me
Remembering Darrell Billy Parks By Trena Parks I was doing time, time was not doing me . . . I accepted my sentence, an unfair sentence For an accidental murder while crazed on coke The judge didn’t hear my cry for help He only saw my…
I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry . . .
Remembering Hisaki Araya By Masaki Araya “I’m sorry, I’m sorry “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you said As our mother nursed her forehead where you hit her “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you said As the police officers handcuffed you and took you away Since then, you…
The Woman Who Tried to Fly
Remembering Dr. Nola Mae Moore From the Moore family Nola Mae Moore, our fierce and beloved mother Championed patient and physicians’ rights She met dad on the bus to Army Reserve bootcamp And practiced medicine with him for 30 years Born in the kitchen of a 40…
He Loved His Red Fusquinha
Remembering Celio Salgueiro From his daughter, Joselia Reis Dinaj Composer: Jon Grier My father, Celio Salgueiro Came to the America,1982, a better life to bloom For many years we were apart Until one day, he sent for us, until one day he sent for…
Rancher Raymond’s Last Sunset
Remembering Raymond Reeves From the Reeves’ family Composer: Robert Howard Our Dad Raymond led a storybook life, A proud Texas rancher A man who would place his kids on a new horse Just after bucked off by another He loved old western movies and his…
Sunday Dinners
By Leslie Lamar Parker Composer: Dorian Wallace When great-grandmother died… When Little Mama, she died. Great-grandmother died… So did her Sunday dinners Packed into Little Mama’s house I ate macaroni and cheese, and collard greens, yam Cornbread, potato salad, fried chicken And as…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “MUSIC”
MUSIC Text by Sarah Allen, music by Sarah Taylor Ellis I hear a song, such a sad, sad song, yet beneath the words there’s hope. I see tears of pain, of longing and regret. I hear dreams strum on a guitar.
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “FEATHER”
FEATHER Text by Dana P.R. Schultze, music by Johanny Navarro A single feather fell from my ceiling I certainly was not expecting that Nor was I expecting such a feeling From inside this jail cell where I’ve sat Minute after day after month, sitting…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “Gambler’s Remorse”
Gambler’s Remorse Text by Devon Terrell, music by Andrew Conklin Whisper me a secret lyric grind the melody with my bones let the wind from the trumpet scatter the ash for miles winner’s prize in loser’s grip empty me with tease o’ sleaze bankrupt…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “El Reno”
EL RENOText by Terry Hedin, music by SiHyun Uhm * El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma is a transfer center for federal inmates, who are then transported from there to other federal prisons throughout the country. EL RENOToday, I gazed upon the Oklahoma plain,…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “All of Us, In Prison”
All of Us, In Prison Text by Jevon Jackson, music by Adore Alexander Some prisons are pistol-thick,core-earth densewith a long electric fence that wrapsaround,and some prisons are softerthan the molecules in muslin,as it drapes across the bundled bed,…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “salsa meditation”
salsa meditation Text by Hal Cobb, music by Drew Amendola my hands will smell for days of onions, garlic and jalapeños despite repeated washings after slicing, dicing and mincing with my trusty lid-o-matic and plastic picnic knife essential utensils of a prison prep 8…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “writing = survival”
Writing = survival Text by Joseph Dole, music by Patricio Molina Writing = survival. I write to release anger. I write to release pain. I write to release stress. I write to obtain and gain.I write to gain my freedom.
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “A Brick in my Cell”
A Brick in my Cell Text by Shareaf Fleming, music by Jake Berran A brick in my cell just grew a mouth You wouldn’t believe what tumbled out Stories of this wretched cell, How warriors barely made…
Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices, “Why They Wanna Cage Us”
Why They Wanna Cage UsText by James Soto, music by Del’Shawn Taylor They tell us to live on minimum wages That’s outrageous.Put us on public aid so our mama can raise us,That’s supposed to save us.We learn to survive, life don’t phase us.But when…
SOS: Incarcerated Voices Complete Songs and Lyrics
The Beauty in Me Based on text by text by WM. Peeples, music by Ivan Rodriguez Back to Life, by Cedar Annenkovna Please look at me, see past my scarsTo the beauty in me. Don’t focus on the wrongs I’ve done That’ll increase your scorn,…
SOS: Incarcerated Voices, “The Beauty In Me”
The Beauty in Me Based on text by text by WM. Peeples, music by Iván Rodriguez Please look at me, see past my scars To the beauty in me. Don’t focus on the wrongs I’ve done That’ll increase your scorn, Instead feel the warmth of…
Dress Rehearsal Update: Two Days to Go!
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: As we learned last night, when you’re preparing a world-premiere digital opera, Tech Week gets taken to a whole new level! The Internet demons were not cooperating and the inherent risk of digital performance that we had until yesterday understood only theoretically, was brought…
Q&A with Elena Araoz
Elena Araoz is a stage director of theater and opera working internationally, Off-Broadway and across the country. She directed White Snake Projects’ I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams in 2019, and continues her work with WSP by directing Alice in the Pandemic. Read on to find out more…
Q&A with Andy Carluccio
Meet Andy Carluccio, the video engineer for Alice in the Pandemic. Andy is the president of Liminal Entertainment Technologies, a company focused on providing industry-leading services to enable virtual theater, performances, and creative projects. Read his bio. Q: What made you want to be a Video Engineer? Is…
Press Release: Team of Tech Innovators Drives Virtual Opera Alice in the Pandemic
Alice in the Pandemic, a new virtual opera from activist opera company White Snake Projects, led by creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs, represents an ingenious adaptation to the changed performing arts environment. Renowned for its pioneering work with new technology onstage, the company has now characteristically reached out to…
Take a Tour Through Alice’s World
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: We’re excitedly (and frantically) developing Alice in the Pandemic. We started this project in May, and we have finished the music “workshop” and are moving forward on orchestra rehearsals, all in the new world of cyberspace! The tech team is forging ahead with creating the 3D…
Immigration: Dreaming of A Real Future
Dear Friends of White Snake Projects: Thank you for attending our forum, Immigration: Dreaming of A Real Future, and thank you to the panelists and tech team who contributed your time and hard work. We are grateful to our partner, the Immigration Initiative at Harvard for hosting…
Now for Some Good News
In these pandemic times where good news is scarce, we’re overjoyed to share with you some great news on the White Snake front!
PRESS RELEASE: Responding to Challenge of COVID-19 Crisis, Creator and Librettist Cerise Jacobs and White Snake Projects Pivot from Live Performance to Virtual Opera with Premiere of Alice in the Pandemic (Oct 22–27)
As COVID-19 plays havoc with arts programming around the globe, creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, are once again pointing the way ahead, with a nimble pivot to sidestep the uncertainty surrounding fall programming.
Working Towards Justice and Equality for All
Today we honor and celebrate Juneteenth, as well a victory for Dreamers. We renew our pledge as an activist opera company to support and work for #BlackLivesMatter and towards a day when there is truly justice and equality for all.
A Call to Action
It’s difficult to find words to describe how precious breath is. For the last two months, we’ve heard heart-wrenching testimony from health care professionals as they watched their patients struggle to breathe. “I’ll never take each breath for granted again,” Ashley Crumpler, Critical Care Nurse from Atlanta, said. Last week, we saw George Floyd struggle to breathe as a police officer charged with protecting us knelt on his neck and crushed the breath out of him. “I can’t breathe,” are words we cannot, and should not, forget.
A Groundbreaking Hybrid
It was wonderful to be with you on May 13 at the world premiere of Sing Out Strong: DeColonized Voices. The authenticity of the lyrics combined with the power of music produced an evening of moving and meaningful songs performed with great artistry. For me, a crucial part of the evening was you, our audience. I have been longing to feel your fellowship again and to share moments of sublime beauty with you. Sing Out Strong fulfilled that longed for need.
Press Release: Second Season of White Snake Projects Community Engagement Initiative, Sing Out Strong: DeColonized Voices, Moves Online
Creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, are proud to announce the second season of the community engagement initiative Sing Out Strong, fostering the creation of new songs on themes arising from the company’s mainstage operas. Sing Out Strong: DeColonized Voices will complement…
Join Us For Sing Out Strong: DeColonized Voices
We hope that you are all well and safe. While all theaters and opera houses are dark, we're grateful that the performing arts are not “dark” as arts organizations turn to digital platforms to share music and opera.
Sing Out Strong: DeColonized Voices Coming to a Screen Near You
We hope that you're all safe and well as we do our part with social distancing. At this point, it's impossible to tell when this great trial will be over. WSP has postponed our second SING OUT STRONG concert tour – Sing Out Strong: DeColonized Voices – from May to September, even as we're planning a virtual world premiere of the concert for May 13.
Music Lifts the Soul
Like most of you, I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster ride. Some days, I feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the suffering now and which is yet to come, yet other days, I feel that all will be well. Staying home can be claustrophobic, but it does not have to be so, as we are lucky to live in an age of connectivity. I’m honing my hitherto non-existent skills at Zooming, Facetiming, and Airdropping; as well as good old fashioned skills like writing, walking (weather permitting), and trying to keep connected to friends and family while practicing social distancing.
Next Stop, Pittsburgh!
I’m thrilled to share the news that last year’s timely immigrant story, I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, will premiere at the Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh on October 23 and 25, 2020, as Resonance Works 2020-2021 season opener. I know that many of you were so moved…
Press Release: Resonance Works Pittsburgh becomes the second company to present acclaimed immigration opera, ‘I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams.’
On October 23 & 25, RESONANCE WORKS will open its 2020-2021 season with I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams at the New Hazlett Theater on Pittsburgh’s North Side. A collaboration between composer Jorge Sosa and creator and librettist Cerise Lim Jacobs, this acclaimed new opera champions the near-perpetual struggles of immigrants and the often-overlooked complexities of their stories. Building on its reputation for bringing the most important new American music to Pittsburgh audiences, Resonance Works becomes only the second company to present this celebrated new work.
PRESS RELEASE: Cerise Jacobs focuses on colonization with new opera, “Cosmic Cowboy” (Sep 25-27)
The newest opera from creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and her activist opera company, White Snake Projects, is titled Cosmic Cowboy: a work of poli sci-fi that blends ancient history and fantasy to talk about the subject of colonization.
Welcome Year of the Rat
It's the Year of the Rat, the symbol of intelligence, energy, and optimism. The Rat is the first animal in the Chinese zodiac, and not by accident. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor organized a race to determine the order of the zodiac. The quick-witted Rat hitched a ride on the back of the Ox. As the Ox neared the finish line, the little Rat leapt over its head to finish first!
Looking back at 2019 and envisioning 2020
It has been a remarkable year of growth for our company as we continue to forge our identity as an activist opera company. Thank you for joining us!
Press Release: White Snake Projects’ I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams Wows Critics, While Cerise Jacobs and Julian Wachner’s REV. 23 Receives New Production at Prototype Festival (Jan 17-18)
Following a chorus of critical praise for creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and composer Jorge Sosa’s immigrant-themed opera, I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, Jacobs’s opera REV. 23, composed by Julian Wachner, will receive its New York premiere in a new production by Los Angeles-based director James Darrah at the 2020 Prototype Festival (Jan 17-18).
November Updates
We had our music workshop of next year’s mainstage opera, Cosmic Cowboy, by Elena Ruehr with our principal artists and our partners, the Boston Children’s Chorus and New England Conservatory. Below are some pictures of White Snake Projects’ team hard at work to bring another new work to life.
Looking Back on I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams
It's been a month since we closed I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, An Immigrant Story. And what a month it was.
Activist Blog: “We All Have Learning to Do”
I can’t think of any recent moment in which I have been more moved than I was while watching the premiere of I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams. It was truly a masterpiece; a work that was eye-opening and intimate in addition to its unquestionable beauty. Upon leaving, I felt shaken by its tragedy, but also empowered by its delivery, especially since it was done with a brilliant all-female cast.
A Note From Dreamer Director Elena Araoz
This opera about immigrants is deeply and entirely American.
Q+A with Jorge Sosa
Composer Jorge Sosa was all set to work with White snake Projects on the opera, Monkey: A Kung Fu Parable when President Trump revoked the DACA act. He and Cerise put Monkey aside and started work on I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams. Jorge talked with us about working with WSP, his influences, and his own experiences as an immigrant.
Q+A with Maria Sensi Sellner
Conductor Maria Sensi Sellner took a break from rehearsal to answer a few of our questions about her pre-performance rituals and more!
Q+A with Kirsten Chambers
Soprano Kirsten Chambers has her hands full in I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, playing the gangsters who threaten Singa and Rosa's families, their mothers, and Rosa's prosecutor. Kirsten took a break from juggling so many roles to talk about being in Dreamer.
Q+A with Isis and Amy
On this day three years ago, my friends and I sat in the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre for the world premiere of Gilgamesh. After months of rehearsing and workshopping and preparing, we and our choir, the Boston Children’s Chorus, were ready to share the masterpiece that we’d been so lucky to take part in with the world.
Q+A with Carla López-Speziale
Mezzo-soprano Carla López-Speziale plays Rosa, the titular Dreamer in I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams. We caught up with Carla during rehearsals and talked to her about her character, yoga, and more.
Q+A with Helen Zhibing Huang
Soprano Helen Zhibing Huang is a White Snake Projects veteran, having previously sung in workshops for Gilgamesh and REV. 23, as well as writing the song "I Can’t Understand a Word You’re Saying" alongside composer Michele Cheng for Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices. She is now performing in our main stage opera, I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams.
Press Release: White Snake Projects’ New Opera – I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams – examines Range of Immigrant Experience at Emerson Paramount Theater in Boston (Sep 20-22)
I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, the newest opera from creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs, with a score by composer Jorge Sosa, premieres September 20-22 on the Robert J. Orchard Stage of Boston’s Emerson Paramount Theater.
SOS Was a Success!
A BIG thank you to our audience for coming to Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices and to our artists for making music and telling stories from their hearts. I am so grateful to all of you who made our inaugural SOS successful.
“We Are Survivors”
Something about live music has always been especially emotive to me. Listening to performers often leaves me speechless, introspective, marveling at each musician continuously perfecting their craft. It’s no surprise that I find myself at any concert I can possibly attend. So when as a part of my internship, I helped organize the Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices community concert series, I learned to appreciate the work that goes into concerts with a new perspective.
Giving Immigrants a Voice
I was going to report on our first Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices concert at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center on August 1, 2019. But after this weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, Ohio, I’d like to reflect on the importance of events like Sing Out Strong have on our communities which are besieged by hate-mongering, racism, and fear.
Meet the SOS Writers
Last month, you met the 10 composers of Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices. This month, please meet the immigrant writers they've been paired with.
Activist Blog: Thoughts on Sing Out Strong Immigrant Voices
Recently, immigration has been a recurring topic in the media. We hear about refugee crises in foreign countries daily.
Introducing SOS: Immigrant Voices Composers
I'd like to introduce our Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices' composers. We selected ten composers from a large pool of applicants and paired them with ten immigrant writers to make immigrant songs. They represent the diversity that is Boston and we're proud to include them in the roster of our artists.
Activist Blog: Art + Activism
There aren’t many people who can convince me to put aside my studying during finals week. But when I received an invitation to Cerise’s celebration of White Snake Projects' three years of art + activism for that very same week, I didn’t question my attendance for a moment. I knew that whatever the evening would hold, it would be a fantastic one. My suspicions were proven correct.
Press Release: Tickets on Sale Today, May 15, for White Snake Projects’ New Opera I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, Composed by Jorge Sosa to a Libretto by Cerise Jacobs
Tickets go on sale today, May 15, for White Snake Projects’ I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, the newest opera from creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs, premiering September 20-22 on the Robert J. Orchard Stage of Boston’s Emerson Paramount Theater. Composed by Jorge Sosa, the opera explores immigration, dislocation, and transformation in America.
Press Release: White Snake Projects Announces Community Songwriting Project Sing Out Strong Immigrant Voices
Creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and her production company, White Snake Projects, are proud to announce the launch of the new multi-year community engagement initiative Sing Out Strong, which will foster the creation of new songs on themes arising from the company’s mainstage operas.
From Hong Kong with Love
What an exciting March it has been: Leaping forward into longer days with Daylight Savings Time, welcoming spring with its green shoots of daffodils and tulips, and, the Hong Kong premiere of Madame White Snake on March 8 and 9!
Activist Blog: Thoughts About Dreamer
Stories about Dreamers have dominated headlines in recent months due to the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. We are bombarded with statistics and it becomes nearly impossible to pick out the truth from the mess of “alternative facts”. One day, the public will be uplifted by the stories of undocumented immigrants who have met great success, and the next, there will be heart-wrenching videos of traumatized children sitting alone in cages.
Workshops, White Snakes, and More!
What a joy to speak with you about a vibrant and dynamic collaborator In I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams—the Boston Children’s Chorus led by Choral Director, Jason Holmes! BCC hosted a three-day music workshop for Dreamer in November 2018 and showed us their musical chops!
Dreamer Workshop Thoughts From the BCC
A few months ago, we held the first workshop for I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams with the full cast, including the Boston Children's Chorus, under the direction of Jason Holmes. After the workshop, Jason had them reflect on the opera. This what they said.
Press Release: Creator and Librettist Cerise Jacobs Teams with Composer Jorge Sosa for Immigrant Opera, I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams
The newest project from creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs takes on an unusually topical subject for opera: immigration.
Opera America to Launch New Grant Initiative for Composers and Librettists of Color
OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, is pleased to announce the launch of its newest program: IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Opera Grants, made possible through the generosity of the Charles and Cerise Jacobs Charitable Foundation.
White Snake Projects: An Activist Opera Company
2018 has been a year of exploring, learning and building the vision of who we are, what we want to be and how to get there. We want to be an activist opera company--one that integrates social activism and original opera; partners with other activists to cross-promote important social issues and opera, and redefines how opera is made by involving young people from our community.
Activist Blog: “Brain Power of Students”
In a rapidly evolving world, opera remains a powerfully timeless form of expression. PermaDeath took themes of classic opera as its vehicle to capture modern ideas that captivate today’s youth.
Activist Blog: “I Am Not Your Typical Opera Patron”
I am not your typical opera patron. I’m a sophomore in high school, and although I often profess my love for musical theatre, it is in reference to the works of Lin-Manuel Miranda as opposed those of Verdi and Puccini.
Activist Blog: “A New Door Into the World of Opera”
When I imagined opera I had the image of a lady in a Viking helmet trying to break glass with her high notes. But I could not have been farther from the truth. PermaDeath was nothing I would have expected.
Cerise Jacobs premieres “Madame White Snake” in Hong Kong in spring 2019
Jacobs’s first opera, Madame White Snake, which premiered in Boston in 2010 and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for music the following year for the score by composer Zhou Long, will be given its Hong Kong premiere in two performances at the 47th Hong Kong Arts Festival in March of next year.
A BIG Thank you to all!
Thank you for taking a risk with us by supporting PermaDeath as audience members, donors, hosts, volunteers, creators, artists, panel members, and well-wishers. As I look back over PermaDeath, the most challenging production we've ever done, I'm filled with wonder at how we managed to do it!
Opening Night
Opening night was last night. Hard to believe we only have two shows left – tonight, Friday September 28 and tomorrow, Saturday, September 29. Our creative team was on tenterhooks with fingers and toes crossed that the gods of technology would be smiling down on us. And yes, they…
Dress Rehearsal Videos
Composer Dan Visconti took a few videos during this week's dress rehearsals.
“It’s the night before the big night.”
“It’s the night before the big night,” so the entire ensemble sings in Scene 6 of PermaDeath as they contemplate the Tournament of Death that they’ll be fighting in the next day. A sleepless night for all. It’s the night before the big night for the artistic and creative…
PermaDeath on Boston 25 News
Segment originally aired September 25, 2018 on Boston 25 News.
Meet Team Nyx
The three Team Nyx singers (Shirin Eskandani, Chris Carbin, and Stephen Carroll) took some time out of their busy rehearsal schedule to answer a few of our questions.
Meet Team Phoebus
The voices behind Team Phoebus take a break from rehearsals to speak with us about PermaDeath's technology, video games, and their love of baking.
Orchestra Rehearsal
It’s orchestra rehearsal time! It's always so exciting to hear the colors and dynamism of the composer’s vision in action. Dan Visconti has created a kaleidoscope of sounds and effects, mixing electronics, courtesy of sound designer Mat Solomon, with acoustic instruments and natural voices.
Visionaries Podcast
Introducing the Opus Affair Podcast series, entitled “Visionaries.” So proud to be featured in its first episode. I discuss how White Snake Projects evolved into the activist company it is today, creating original and socially relevant opera, many of which innovate with the latest audio and video technology.
Journeying with ALS
We took a day off rehearsals to participate in the panel: “Journeying with ALS: Finding Voice Through Art, Music and Technology.” This evening was the culmination of a year's work, in collaboration with Ron Hoffman of Compassionate Care, ALS, and Lesley University, bringing together disparate people from the worlds of opera, art, medicine, technology and those who have been touched by ALS.
A Note from PermaDeath Director Sam Helfrich
Technology is everywhere: in front of our eyes, at our fingertips, and all around us, delivering information, news, romance, friendship, and a massive amount of entertainment. Every day new advances in technology mean the world is moving faster and faster.
What is a Faceware Singer?
Please meet Nathan Rodriguez and Jennifer Caraluzzi, our intrepid Faceware singers. What, you may ask, is a Faceware singer?
A Note from PermaDeath Composer Dan Visconti
Why are we here, and what happens when we die?
Get to Know Conductor Daniela Candillari
Being somewhat of a video-game newbie myself and learning about all the different components of creation and execution of video games, I'm very intrigued and excited to work in an environment where two different mediums meet.
Get to Know Maggie Finnegan
I’d like to introduce you to our new Sonny–Maggie Finnegan–who has graciously stepped in for Rachele Gilmore, who had to withdraw unexpectedly. Maggie was selected after a nationwide search for a coloratura and we’re so lucky to have her.
PermaDeath, a New Video Game Opera from Creator and Librettist Cerise Jacobs and Composer Dan Visconti, Premieres in Boston Sep 27-29
The world premiere of the video game opera PermaDeath, written by creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs and composed by Dan Visconti, the composer of Opera Philadelphia’s recent Andy Warhol-themed ANDY: A Popera, takes place at Boston’s Emerson Cutler Majestic Theater from September 27-29.
“If I can do this, you can too.”
Summer! What a sweet and savory word combining the umami of the seasons. We who live in New England wait all year for this. As I write, we’re deep into the heart of summer, and I’m trying to steal a little time to savor the clear blue skies and green hills.
How to use PermaDeath’s Companion App
Have you downloaded the companion app to PermaDeath yet? Created by students from Becker College, the app allows you to further explore the PermaDeath world and its characters. Each character has its own icon--we call them triggers--that you can find on our website and in the show's program.
PermaDeath’s Superhero
There's been a lot of excitement and hoopla, (all justifiably so), over the technical achievements of our team of faculty and students from RISD, Becker, and Lesley, in the creation of the cutting edge tech and animation of PermaDeath.
Dan Visconti and Cerise Jacobs’s Video Game Opera, PermaDeath, Joins Conversation about ALS, Partnering with Compassionate Care ALS
Composer Dan Visconti and creator-librettist Cerise Jacobs’s video game opera, PermaDeath, is a groundbreaking work containing an intricate web of theater, music, and cutting-edge technology. But the elaborate technical aspects of the piece are all in the service of a story about one central human character: a gaming enthusiast named Sonny, who is grappling with the pain and motor control loss of the early stages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
“There are similarities between opera and video games.”
You watched our first preview video about the PermaDeath story, now learn about PermaDeath's technology!
Tickets on Sale Today, May 15, for Creator and Librettist Cerise Jacobs’s Video Game Opera PermaDeath, Composed by Dan Visconti
Tickets go on sale today for the latest brainchild of creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs, the video game opera PermaDeath. Hailed by Opera magazine as “intrepid and artistically ambitious,” Jacobs is quickly establishing a body of original operatic work that blends two of her great passions, myth and technology, in compelling and relevant contemporary stories. PermaDeath, her most technologically sophisticated work to date, premieres at Boston’s Emerson Cutler Majestic Theater from September 27-29.
PermaDeath at PAX East
The White Snake Projects Team is recovering from PAX East 2018, the largest video game consumer event in the United States with over 100,000 people attending four days of gaming, demos, cosplay, and just plain fun!
Librettist Cerise Jacobs Collaborates with Visual Art and Technical Virtuosos for Video Game Opera PermaDeath
The latest undertaking for the “intrepid and artistically ambitious” (Opera magazine) creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs is the upcoming video game opera PermaDeath, premiering at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theater on September 27-29 of this year.
Librettist Cerise Jacobs Plunges into Gaming World for Video Game Opera PermaDeath, Composed by Dan Visconti
Creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs—hailed by Opera magazine as “intrepid and artistically ambitious”—is quickly establishing a body of original operatic work that blends two of her great passions, myth and technology, in compelling and relevant contemporary stories. Her latest venture, premiering at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theater on September 27-29 of this year, is the video game opera PermaDeath, co-written with her son Pirate Epstein, founder of the video game company SqueePlay and a former New England Halo champion.
Following Success of REV. 23 Premiere in Boston, Librettist Cerise Jacobs Honored as “Mover and Shaper” by Musical America
reator and librettist Cerise Jacobs – whose Ouroboros Trilogy, produced in September of 2016, was “the most ambitious opera undertaking Boston has ever seen” (Berkshire Fine Arts) – premiered her new opera REV. 23, composed by Trinity Church Wall Street Music Director Julian Wachner, this past fall at Boston’s John Hancock Theater, as the centerpiece of the first Boston New Music Festival. Now Jacobs has been recognized as a “Mover and Shaper” by Musical America.
A Note from Cerise
I can't believe we're embarking on the music workshop of Dan Visconti's PermaDeath at NEC!
Meet Joshua Major
How did you first get involved with Cerise Jacobs and her new operas? I had just started working at NEC...
We did it!
REV. 23 premiered to standing ovations from you, our audience! And what an audience you’ve been—engaged, supportive, receptive and thoughtful.
REV. 23 on Open Studios with Jared Bowen
Watch Cerise Lim Jacobs discuss REV. 23 on Open Studios with Jared Bowen.
Be my guest to REV. 23
At a recent visit to the hairdresser, when I had my head upside down in the sink, the apprentice washing my hair said she'd seen me on TV last year.
Thoughts on Hurricane Irma
I’m sitting in a beautiful NE Fall day waiting for REV. 23 rehearsals to start. It’s hard to believe—almost surreal—that just south of us, Hurricane Irma has made landfall in Florida.
“We shall take away the pencil!”
It’s getting harder and harder to separate art from politics.
Week One of Rehearsal
We’ve just finished the first week of REV. 23 rehearsals. After four years of working on this opera, it’s finally here—the mystery of creation, the compromise of collaboration and the slow almost plodding process of bringing a new work to fruition—it’s here! I’m exhausted and elated.
Director’s Note: Mark Streshinsky on REV. 23
I first met Cerise Jacobs after one of my productions with Boston Baroque. She hugged me and told me how funny the show was (yes, Baroque can be funny!). I told her I liked to do comedy and got really antsy when I couldn’t find anything in an opera for the audience to at least chuckle about…
Animation with Catriona Baker
Catriona Baker, Assistant Professor and Interim Chair of Animation at Lesley University, with her students, has created original animation for White Snake Project’s new opera, REV. 23. She, with two student teams, have developed both a thirty-second animation and two augmented reality animations.
Beyond Eschaton or End Times
REV. 23 or Revelation 23, is the hypothetical, fantastical hitherto unpublished last chapter of the Book of Revelation, if St. John the Divine had written a 23rd chapter.
Meet Micro Jackson
Micro Jackson got her moniker because she's microscopic (as a teacup chihuahua, she fits in a teacup), she's black, and has a white glove. She began exhibiting signs of being a diva very early on and got her first acting break at the MSPCA in Boston where she took over the staff and the facility with her dramatic exegesis of “Killing Me Softly,” rendered very loudly.
Where in the World is Charles Jacobs Now?
I dreamed up REV. 23 one day as I was thinking of where I would meet my husband Charles again since he passed from this world. It amused me that my incorrigible, irascible and impossible husband wouldn't be caught dead (pardon the pun) in Paradise (not that he'd be entirely welcome there) as some of the most interesting people seem to be consigned to that other place.
My Next Opera Projects
Thank you for supporting “the most ambitious opera undertaking Boston has ever seen” (Berkshire Fine Arts)—the Ouroboros Trilogy—which premiered last year to great acclaim. I’m attaching a short trailer of the show for you to enjoy!
Blood Rubies Was a Huge Success
Colleen Daly gave a stirring performance of Persophone's gorgeous aria, Blood Rubies, at the Boston New Music Festival Kickoff in early November.
October piano vocal workshop performances at NEC
Can't wait for the October piano vocal workshop performances at NEC. We're hard at work rewriting the libretto based on discoveries made at the workshops led by the indomitable Josh Major. Our team is eating, carousing and writing, as it should be!
Madame White Snake
Desperate for her love, I tried to snatch it by force but she drove me far away.