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Encore Exclusive interview with Madame White Snake creator Cerise Lim Jacobs
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Opera Boston is about to make history. The company will soon present Madame White Snake, one of only four world premieres by U.S. opera houses this year. Librettist Cerise Lim Jacobs and composer Zhou Long have brought the ancient Chinese tale of a white snake demon that transforms into a human so that she may experience love to life. Co-commissioned by Opera Boston and the Beijing Music Festival, the new opera will have three performances (February 26, 28 and March 2, 2010) at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston before travelling to Beijing. Encore spoke with librettist and creator Cerise Lim Jacobs about the production.
How did the idea for Madame White Snake come about?
My husband was having a birthday party and I wanted to have a 5–10 minute libretto commissioned to be presented to a few friends at a party at our house. While in the process of investigating this commission I woke up one day and rediscovered the story of White Snake, something I had grown up with as a child in Singapore. I was so excited, I wrote the concept and showed it to my husband. He started asking more questions and the ideas that we came up with developed into the first draft.
How did the project develop?
We sent the idea to ten composers, five of them Chinese-Americans. All of the composers connected with the material but the Chinese-Americans were familiar in a different way, they had grown up with the story. We interviewed all of the composers and decided upon Zhou Long, whose music we really connected with.
How did the partnership with Opera Boston happen?
The composers were reluctant to attach themselves to the project without the backing of a professional company, so I started making cold calls. One of those cold calls was to Opera Boston, two years ago. Initially they were skeptical, but after many meetings they became entranced by the power of the music and libretto. Madame White Snake also fits with the mission of Opera Boston. They champion new works and what’s newer than a commissioned piece?!
What does Madame White Snake’s trip to China mean to you?
I don’t think that I am capable of expressing how excited we are to be able to travel with the piece to the origins of the myth. The Beijing Music Festival is the co-commissioner of the piece; they actually called us, having heard about the project through the composer, Zhou Long, and were impressed by the subject matter and the work. To be able to share Madame White Snake with people who are intimately familiar with the story is beyond exciting.
Can you discuss the multicultural nature of the opera?
The opera is sung in English but is clearly musically influenced by the traditional Chinese music and instruments. It was always my artistic and esthetic intent to re-imagine this thousand-year-old myth from American eyes. I wanted to introduce the story of White Snake to American audiences in a way that they could understand it while not losing the roots of where it came from.