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- The Rebirth of Madame White Snake
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- Avishay Artsy
An ancient story is enjoying a decidedly modern interpretation on stage beginning this weekend. The tale of Madame White Snake has been told countless times in China. Now, a Boston production company has turned the story into an opera with a libretto in English. Word of Mouth’s Avishay Artsy attended a rehearsal and brought back this report.
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Piece Description
An ancient story is enjoying a decidedly modern interpretation on stage beginning this weekend. The tale of Madame White Snake has been told countless times in China. Now, a Boston production company has turned the story into an opera with a libretto in English. Word of Mouth’s Avishay Artsy attended a rehearsal and brought back this report.
Broadcast History
Aired on Feb. 25, 2010 on NHPR's Word of Mouth.
Transcript
The Chinese myth goes like this: A venomous white snake demon wanted to gain human form and experience love, so she meditated for one-thousand years. She transforms into a human and seduces a man. But when she becomes pregnant, fate intervenes. The lover betrays her, turning her back into a snake.
SWELL MUSIC
That’s the basic story. Chinese actors have performed it since the fourteenth century, and it’s still popular. Even children learn the tale. So when Cerise Lim Jacobs was fishing for an idea for her first opera, she suddenly recalled Madame White Snake’s story.
“I woke up one morning at five o’clock. I was in New York City. And… it just came to me that morning. And I got up and I sat at the computer and it just came pouring out of me.”
And like Madame White Snake, Jacobs has undergone her own transformation. Jacobs was raised in Shanghai and came to the U-S when she was...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:An ancient story is enjoying a decidedly modern interpretation on stage beginning this weekend. The tale of Madame White Snake has been told countless times in China. A Boston production company has turned the story into an opera with a libretto in English. Avishay Artsy attended a rehearsal and brought back this report.
OUTRO:Madame White Snake debuts in Boston on Feb. 26, 2010 at the Cutler Majestic Theater at Emerson College.
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