Madame White Snake

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Forces or Category: Opera for soloists, SATB, children's chorus & orchestra with Chinese flute & erhu

Orchestration: Chinese fl, fl (+picc), ob, 2 cl (II+bcl), 2 bn (II+cbn), 2 hn, 2 tpt, btbn, timp, 2 perc, hp, erhu, str

for soloists, SATB, children's chorus and orchestra with Chinese flute and erhu
Based on an ancient Chinese myth, this opera won Zhou Long the ...

Madame White Snake

Study score

Description

for soloists, SATB, children's chorus and orchestra with Chinese flute and erhu
This opera in four acts is based on an ancient Chinese myth about a snake-shaped spirit that attains human form to experience love. The English libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs sensitively adapts the story for modern audiences, and Zhou Long's music uses both Western and Chinese sounds to create a pioneering cross-cultural opera. Long was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Madame White Snake, and the Pulitzer jury described the work as 'a deeply expressive opera that draws on a Chinese folk tale to blend the musical traditions of the East and the West.'
Madame White Snake was first staged by Opera Boston on 26 February 2010 at the Culter Majestic Theatre, Boston, USA, and received its first Chinese staging at the Beijing International Festival on 10 October 2010, Beijing, China.

Madame White Snake

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Zhou Long

Composer Information

Zhou Long (b.1953)

Zhou Long is internationally recognized for creating a unique body of music that brings together the aesthetic concepts and musical elements of East and West. Deeply grounded in the entire spectrum of his Chinese heritage, including folk, philosophical, and spiritual ideals, he is a pioneer in transferring the idiomatic sounds and techniques of ancient Chinese musical traditions to modern Western instruments and ensembles. Born in Beijing but a United States citizen since 1999, Zhou Long is married to the composer-violinist Chen Yi.