For the Minnesota Opera’s 50th world premiere in 60 years, the company presents the first opera in its history where the composer and librettist have been women. The production is made in collaboration with Theater Mu with stage direction by Rick Shiomi.
St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang wrote the book “The Song Poet” about her father, Bee Yang. Its title comes from the Hmong Song Poet tradition. Bee Yang would wander from village to village, collecting stories and turning them into song.
Bee Yang’s story, which Kao Kalia Yang has adapted into a libretto for the Minnesota Opera’s production, follows Bee Yang (played by Huiyin Tan as the young Bee and Museop Kim as the adult Bee) throughout his life. He falls in love with Yang’s mother, Chue Moua (Corissa Bussian), experiences America’s Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War, lives in a refugee camp, moves to the United States and, finally, returns to visit Laos.
Two singers playing Bee Yang at different ages. Huiyin Tan, who was seen earlier in the Minnesota Opera’s season in “The Daughter of the Regiment,” plays him as a youth, and brings an effervescence to the role. Korean-American singer Museop Kim, in his Minnesota Opera debut, has a weighty richness with his baritone as the elder Bee Yang, ably transitioning from young adult to elder.
Most of the opera is sung in English, with Hmong and English supertitles projected on the back wall. There are also sections where Bee Yang sings in Hmong, which were set to music by Bee Yang in real life.
A heartfelt folk quality characterizes the Hmong sections of the libretto. The “song poet” music blends seamlessly into the rest of the score, as if breathing life into the composition as a whole. In one scene, Bee Yang’s song becomes a round of voices sung by the chorus, creating an emotionally resonant sound.
Jocelyn Hagen’s score envelops those song poet sections with lyrical elegance. Her score is layered and complex, performed adeptly by the musicians of the Minnesota Opera, led by conductor Tiffany Chang.
Only 14 musicians make up the orchestra for the production, and there’s only one wind instrument — Laurie Hatcher Merz playing the bassoon. She’s joined by two percussionists, strings, harp player Min Kim, plus piano and synthesizer. The idiosyncratic makeup of the orchestration makes for unusual sounds, and many opportunities for the musicians to shine as individuals. Both Hatcher Merz and Kim find the spotlight at numerous junctures throughout the performance, as do other players.
The Luminary Arts Center in Minneapolis’ North Loop makes for an intimate opera setting. The small chamber ensemble of musicians is prominently visible onstage, taking up nearly half the playing area. Being able to watch the musicians play Hatcher Merz’s compelling score adds to the overall enjoyment, as the story of “The Song Poet” unfolds on the other side of the stage.
One particularly effective scene takes place in the second half, when Bee Yang has moved to the United States and is working in a factory. Hagen’s score incorporates factory sound effects on top of the percussive, rhythmic sounds of the workplace. Minnesota Opera veteran Charles H. Eaton does well in his role as the awful supervisor, and Shiomi orchestrates the staging with chilling dystopian effect.
Originally slated for the Minnesota Opera’s youth opera program, the “Song Poet” opera is well served by professional singers, and seems poised to succeed beyond the life of its current run outside the Twin Cities.
If you go
Who: The Minnesota Opera in collaboration with Theater Mu
What: “The Song Poet”
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 Tuesday and Thursday, through March 26
Where: Luminary Arts Center, 700 N. First St., Minneapolis
Tickets: Sold Out.
Capsule: Composer Jocelyn Hagen brings Kao Kalia Yang’s “The Song Poet” to riveting life with an intriguing score.
