Madame White Snake

by Zhou Long
Libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs

Based on the beloved ancient Chinese legend, Madame White Snake marks Opera Boston’s first-ever commissioned work, in collaboration with the Beijing Music Festival. The opera tells the story of a powerful white snake demon who transforms into a beautiful woman to experience love. She meets her true love, Xu Xian, at the Broken Bridge on the West Lake in Hangzhou, and marries him. So widely celebrated is their love that a curious Abbot investigates. He sees through her human form to the snake. When the Abbot learns that Madame White Snake is pregnant, he is horrified by what he considers a violation of all of the traditional taboos of race and religion, the divine and the profane. He decides to intervene and he confronts her husband. Not surprisingly, disaster strikes. Madame White Snake is betrayed by her husband and in the moment of betrayal, she is tragically transformed back into a snake.

For more information, visit www.madamewhitesnake.org.

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