China Now Music Festival: Mi 谜 (The Enigma), a chamber opera by Ma Hanrui
The 2025 China Now Music Festival concludes with a dynamic 3-part program of multi-sensory and multi-disciplinary performances, featuring propulsive percussion, contemporary dance, and a new chamber opera. The Bard East/West Ensemble performs, comprising of a Western string quintet, seven Chinese instrumentalists, and two percussionists, with Jindong Cai conducting.
The chamber opera Mi 谜 (The Enigma) premiered in December 2023, featuring a libretto by Pan Geng and music by Ma Hanrui. Pan’s libretto is an homage to David Henry Hwang’s acclaimed play M. Butterfly. In Mi, Pan and Ma draw inspiration from Hwang’s story to explore issues of illusion and desire in their own unique voice. The arrangement weaves together three vocal roles—a tenor, a baritone, and a male dan from Peking Opera—supported by the Bard East/West Ensemble’s unique fusion of Chinese and Western instruments. Over two short acts, the piece relates the tragic story of a French officer entangled in his own "Madame Butterfly" fantasy. Elegant and unsettling, Mi explores themes of identity, deception, and the devastating power of cultural myth.
Cast:
Yu Xiangwei, Peking opera performer
Eric Finbarr Carey, tenor
Nathaniel Sullivan, baritone
Bard East/West Ensemble
Jindong Cai, conductor
Tickets range $15 - $55.
