Name: Murasaki's Moon
Start: 2019-05-17T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2019-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Kristen Choi

Lady Murasaki

Tenor

Martin Bakari

Genji

John Noh

Buddhist Priest

Yoojin Lee

Conductor

Geoffrey McDonald

Stage director

Eric Einhorn

Choreographer

Yoko Yamashita

Costume designer

Beth Goldenberg

Wig & Make-up Designer

Gabrielle Vincent

Prop Designer

Sydney E Schatz

Stage Manager

Lauren Moriah Stern

Instrumentalist

Yoko Reikano Kimura

Satoshi Takeishi

Kaoru Watanabe

On Site Opera

English

Murasaki's Moon

New York City

United States

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Astor Chinese Garden Court

Public

Japanese

Approved

Murasaki's Moon Wiancko

Michi Wiancko discusses her journey from violinist to composer and the process of writing her first opera, “Murasaki’s Moon,” based on the 11th-century Japanese novel “The Tale of Genji”
and written in collaboration with librettist Deborah Brevoort. 

“Murasaki's Moon” earned On Site Opera a 2018 Commissioning Grant for Female Composers. The grant was awarded through OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers program, which is funded by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Since its inception in 2013, the program has awarded nearly $1 million to support the development of operas by women.

To learn more about OPERA America's Granting programs, visit operaamerica.org/grants

The sequestered life of a lady-in-waiting feels suffocating to the imaginative yet introspective Lady Murasaki. To escape the boundaries of the palace, she begins to write an epic tale of love and freedom. Murasaki’s life in the palace helps to shape the world of her novel, The Tale of Genji, which catapults her to fame, yet creates tension within the palace. She struggles to find a balance between the relationships with those around her, the characters she creates, and the far-reaching impact of her writing. 
 
Presented in conjunction with the Met’s exhibition The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated, on view March 5-June 16, 2019. Lady Murasaki was the granddaughter of a writer and daughter of a scholar, who struggled to find her place at the Imperial Court in 11th century Japan. She gained recognition at court for her poetry and story-telling, and eventually penned the world’s first novel: The Tale of Genji. Murasaki’s Moon is an opera for audiences of all ages, inspired by the life and work of Lady Murasaki.

Produced by On Site Opera and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Commissioned by On Site Opera, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and American Lyric Theater

Murasaki's Moon by Wiancko, M., Fri 17 May 2019, From (2019/2019), Directed by Eric Einhorn,, Conductor Geoffrey McDonald, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States

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