Like the legendary White Snake demon who becomes human to live intensely, White Snake Projects transforms our present day experiences into original new opera made in America. White Snake Projects (formerly the Friends of Madame White Snake) is a grassroots organization of individuals who are inspired by thestory of one individual's yearning for that one bright life defining moment that illuminates
who we are and gives meaning to our existence. The White Snake’s transformation from demon to human to experience that most human of all emotions – love - is a meditation on what it means to be human, a meditation that continues in us all. In 2007, the Friends began to forge alliances with Boston community groups for outreach and education programs to build bridges between the Asian and mainstream American communities through multicultural projects. The Friends were instrumental in raising the money to fund their first multicultural project with Opera Boston, Madame White Snake, a new American opera based on the ancient Chinese Legend of the White Snake, and to sponsor its tour to the Beijing Music Festival. Madame White Snake premiered in Boston and Beijing in 2010 and won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Music for its composer, Zhou Long. Building on the success of Madame White Snake, White Snake Projects, (formerly the Friends of Madame White Snake) is bringing newly commissioned opera based on original stories by Cerise Jacobs to Boston’s mainstage over the next five years. This endeavor kicks off in 2016 with OUROBOROS Trilogy which comprises three operas - Madame White Snake, Naga and Gilgamesh. It will premiere at the Cutler Majestic Theater in September 2016. As part of OUROBOROS’ activities, the Friends plan to hold libretti readings by local celebrities Boston’s Chinatown and other venues, and produce a children’s play, "When the White Snake Cries," based on the iconic Legend of the White Snake, at the Boston Children’s Museum.
2017 brings REV. 23, a satiric farce which traverses hell, paradise-on-earth and everywhere in between. White Snake Projects is planning community events involving discussion of concepts of good and evil, heaven and hell in Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Please visit the PROJECTS section of this website for a full discussion of all our projects. We are grateful for our past collaborations with Opera Boston, Beth Morrison Projects, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, the Boston Mayor’s Office, the City of Hangzhou, China, the Brookline Public Library, and Primary Source. The Friends continue to renew old alliances and forge new ones. We are proud to be collaborating today with ArtsEmerson, Beth Morrison Projects, Boston Lyric Opera, Celebrity Series, New England Conservatory, Boston University Music Department, Boston Baroque, Boston Midsummer Opera, Boston Children’s Museum, Brookline Public Library and many others. It has been a remarkable journey, and it continues...
We hope you will join us.
