In Development
Moss Sutra
青 苔 经
ABOUT
The Moss Sutra is a new Kunqu Opera that combines various forms of ceremonial chanting. It has an abstract, sutra - like structure, that contains layers of discoveries, stories and inner cycle chantings.
Synopsis
The performance begins in a prehistorical time. A deity shows a woman a dance and song, which exist between the human and celestial world. This is the origin of Chinese Opera.
In a sealed timeless garden, a woman, Xun, questions the extent of the garden’s encompassing nature and ponders her own sense of lack. Dappled sunlight appears on tree leaves. The shimmering lights come together as voices guiding her, chanting “Manifest, manifest.”
Outside the garden is Beijing in 1860. A British army, denied entry by the emperor, grows restless as attempts at trade and diplomacy are failing. The British plenipotentiary Lord Elgin decides to burn the garden to the ground, forcing China into the modern period.
Out of the ash, an ungendered youth rises. This person sings the tale of a Zen buddhist disciple who has witnessed his master’s magical power and then consecrates his youth to the master’s silver light.
The pure Buddhist realm keeps expanding, into another dimension and the audience is transported to China’s remote past at the dawn of pictographic writing. A young priest fulfills his obligation to his Oracle master, by carrying out a human sacrifice. In the course of the ritual the mystical truth of pictorial calligraphy is finally revealed to him. With this discovery, all the efforts and searching have come together, form the voices of the ever-lost human spirits and celestial chanting, joining together, celebrating the knowledge of who we are, and of our journey within the everlasting cycles of the Universe.
The following three samples are excerpts of work in progress.
PRELUDE
On a Snowy Mountain
Woman and Female Chanters
Lingering
Eternal game
Flowing
Between worlds
Rolling thunder drums
Waves on waves
Leave a few remain
Sleep as asleep
Sphere forms sphere
Yet flowers not flowers
Moon in moon
Where will it go?
Where will I go?
[In the snow, a deity lands on the mountain top.]
Female Chanters
Forgetting
Now and when
Lost in the twilight
Ten thousand names
Both mortals and immortals
Revealed behind the mask
Beaming eyes …
Deity
Singing in between worlds
Rootless
Flowerless
Female Chanters
Voiceless
Nameless
Deity
Fragrance exudes
Rendering the transparent tune
In solemn light
Female Chanters
Unknown
And
Unfound
[A snow storm begins.]
Female Chanters
Snowy origin
A brook sprawls and tumbles
Pebble shrines
Only rainclouds now remain
When will we see each other again?
Deity
Here is a pair of true eyes
Take them please
When you can truly see
I will return.
[Deity leaves with his snow vehicle.]
Female Chanters
Lingering
Eternal game
Flowing
Between worlds
Earth ocean mountains
Winds endless cycles
THE AMBIENT SONG
Nonverbal Communication
HUMiLity AS THE HISTORY GOES ON
The Finale
Male Chanters
“The great Emathian conqueror
Bid spare the garden of Pindarus
When temple and tower
Went to the ground” *
Narrator
In the long long history,
there are only few revolutionaries,
among us,
pushing us forward.
As for the rest,
they are but moss,
upon the ground.
Male Chanters join Narrator
These two
The few
and the Moss
Coexist
Meandering
Beneath
The eternal firmament
Deity in the background
Singing in between worlds
Rootless
Flowerless
Nameless
Female Chanters
Seasons change
Rocks turn to sand
Rainbow bridges
Vanish in clouds
All
But
The stillness is here
This mossy land
It extends
[Female Chanters unfold the fans in their hands to convey a joyful emotion]
(Fan) This is how to open it
(Moss) It turn colors
[Female Chanters fold back the fans in their hands to convey a sad emotion]
(Fan) This is how to close it
(Moss) It turn colors
* The passage in quotes is by John Milton. The word “home” in the original passage has been changed to “garden.”
ARTISTS
Bill Yumans Baritone
Chad Kranak Tenor
Brian Mummert Baritone
Micah Epps Bass
Qian Yi Soprano and Mezzosoprano
Hong Da Qing Piccolo, Flute and Xun
Audrey Chen Cello
Neil Beckmann Guitar
Satoshi Takeishi Percussion
Julian Wright Recording Engineer
Tyler Neidermayer Recording Engineer
Elizabeth Gartman Transcribing and Copying
Lucas Hunter Special Assistant
Ani Chong Special Assistant
Emile Berlinerblau Special Assistant
Amy Mereson Story Editor
Special Thanks
Rachel Cooper
Ralph Samuelson
Jin Qing
Anne Harley
Julian Bennett Holmes
Dennis Malone
Nancy Reale
Bill Yumans
Evan Eisenberg
Susan Jain
Will Healy
Wesley Chinn
Caitlin Ward
Julian Crouch
Andrea Miller
Patterson Sims
Katy Homans
Nigel Redden
Miranda Leonard
Leonard Porter
Opera America
Qian Yi Composition and Lyrics