Tag Archives: Tianhui Ng

Sep 24

The Voice of a Movement: “Is This America?”

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The ensemble. Photo by by Kathy Wittman.

Presented by White Snake Projects
Composition by Mary D. Watkins
Libretto by Mary D. Watkins and Cerise Lim Jacobs
Stage direction by Pascale Florestal
Music direction by Tianhui Ng
Projection design by John Oluwole ADEkoje
Scenic design by Baron Pugh
Program art by Dr. Nettrice R. Gaskins
Featuring Deborah Nansteel, Eliam Ramos, Nina Evelyn Anderson, Joel Clemens, Carina DiGianfilippo, Isabel Randall, Chris Remkus, Naila Delgado

September 20th – 22nd
The Strand Theatre
543 Columbia Rd
Boston, MA 02125

Information here

Content Warning: Is This America? contains very strong, racially-loaded language, and references to violence.

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

BOSTON — Early in Act Two of White Snake Project’s new opera, Fannie Lou Hamer stands proudly before the Democratic National Convention, demanding a seat at the table for Black citizens. She testifies to the violence and dehumanization she has faced as a Black woman in the mid-twentieth century deep south: “I question America, the home of the free and the brave… They make our lives Hell! Hell, Hell! Is this America?”

Hamer’s famous speech (adapted by co-librettists Cerise Lim Jacobs and Mary D. Watkins and sung with grandeur and ferocity by mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel) was not met with polite applause during the performance I attended last night. Instead, a spectator a few seats to my right was moved to spontaneously respond – “Get it, girl!” – followed by cheers and uproarious applause.  Continue reading →

May 08

Beating the Villain is Half the Fun in “Domme and Giovanni”

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Stefanos Koroneos, Stage Director & Projections Designer.

Presented by White Snake Projects
Composed by Ryan Oldham
Libretto by Liz Abram-Oldham and Cerise Lim Jacobs
Stage Directed by Stefanos Koroneos
Music Directed by Tianhui Ng
Donna Anna: Carami Hilaire (soprano)
Don Giovanni: Andrew Simpson (bass-baritone)
Donna Elivira: Pascale Spinney (mezzo-soprano)
Leporello: Kyle Oliver (baritone)
Jazz/Rock Band: David McGrory (keyboard/accordion), Dan J. Pelletier (percussion), 
Gillian Dana (bass), and John Tyler Ken (guitar)

May 5 -6, 2024
La Voile
1627 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA, 02445

Review by Gillian Daniels

BROOKLINE, Mass. – White Snake Projects, as part of their Opera Through the Looking Glass series, reframes Mozart’s Don Giovanni as an opera of cathartic, female-driven revenge. Donna Anna (Carami Hilaire, soprano), a professional dominatrix with a vendetta, and Donna Elvira (Pascale Spinney, mezzo-soprano), a self-serious FBI agent convinced she’s starring in an ‘80’s cop show, are working to bring down the titular Don Giovanni (Andrew Simpson, bass-baritone) from the beginning. 

There is no suggestion that Giovanni is supernaturally charming, just manipulative and cruel. He’s a mafia don, a crime boss who spills blood as gleefully as he demands a whipping from a hired sex worker. Not so much titillating as a campy, though there is indeed a striptease courtesy of Simpson, his relationship with Donna Anna is enthusiastic and more complex than even he realizes. Continue reading →

Sep 25

Too Much of a Good Thing: “MONKEY, A Kung Fu Puppet Parable”

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Presented by White Snake Projects
Based on Journey to the West
Libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs
Composed by Jorge Sosa
Stage direction by Roxanna Myhrum
Music direction by Tianhui Ng
Puppet design by Tom Lee and Chicago Puppet Studio

Featuring Chuanyuan Liu, Dylan Morrongiello, Carami Hilaire, Cristina Maria Catro, John Paul Huckle, Maria Dominique, Lopez, Carlos Jose Torres Lopez, Nathaniel Justiniano, Angelo Guo, Eliott Purcell, Lawrence Chan, Amanda Gibson, VOICES Boston

September 23 – 24, 2023
Emerson’s Paramount Center Theater
559 Washington St
Boston, MA

Review by Maegon Bergeron-Clearwood

BOSTON, Mass. — MONKEY, A Kung Fu Puppet Parable ticks three of my personal favorite boxes. it features puppets and opera, two traditions that are rife with simple but powerful techniques for bringing fantastical stories to life. It also features martial arts, a personal passion of mine that I rarely see experimented with onstage. It’s a tantalizing combination of performance elements, and I could not have been more excited to discover how White Snake Projects would weave them together. Continue reading →

Apr 03

“Don Giovanni” Reframed for Our Troubled Times

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Photo via Boston Opera Collaborative

Presented by Boston Opera Collaborative
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte
Stage Direction by Patricia Maria-Weinman and Greg Smucker
Conducted by Tianhui Ng

March 28 – April 6
Ben Franklin Institute of Technology
41 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
Don Giovanni on Facebook

Content warning: Assault and sexual assault

Critique by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) This iteration of Don Giovanni begins with a projection of the infamous pussy-grabbing quote from our Cheeto-in-Chief. It goes on to present images of Brett Kavanaugh, Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, and so many (too many) others. From minute one, it’s clear this is a production without subtlety, but for those of us who wake up in dread of what the news will say about the continued degradation of women’s rights in the United States, this is exactly the production we need. To use Don Giovanni as a lens to view our very national moment is a bold move and a difficult one to land. Continue reading →