Interview: Kao Kalia Yang, Jocelyn Hagen, Rick Shiomi,Tiffany Chang of THE SONG POET at Minnesota Opera

MUSIC BY JOCELYN HAGEN
LIBRETTO BY KAO KALIA YANG

A father's love, a family's journey.
The first Hmong story adapted for the operatic stage, St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang's memoir The Song Poet comes to life in this world premiere. It tells the story of Yang's family and her song poet father as war drives them from the mountains of Laos into a Thai refugee camp and ultimately on to the challenging world of life as a refugee. With his poetry, Kalia's father inspires hope in his family, polishing their reality so that they might shine.

Sung in English and Hmong with English and Hmong captions projected above the stage.

We chat with the creative team about this production.

Author and Librettist Kao Kalia Yang:

What does it mean to take this story and adapt it into an opera?

To adapt The Song Poet to an opera was at least two things for me,

1: An exciting challenge. Opera is not a tradition I have much exposure to and it is an artform that has been relatively inaccessible for many. For me to adapt the story of a Hmong factory worker and write it into a libretto, shift the emotions into songs, was an opportunity for me to return to my father's story and push my own boundaries as a writer.

2: A historical opportunity. This will be the first time a Hmong story is adapted for the operatic stage. This means of course that I have a level of responsibility to honor the story that I come from and its people, to make us proud.

*It is a work of hope. I hoped that I could do it. I hope that it will do wonderful things for the world of opera.

What was/is the creative process like? Did/are you face any challenges?

It was daunting. I was not the first librettist on the project. It was supposed to be done initially by someone else. When the task became mine, I had to of course re-think the whole of the work. MN Opera purchased the rights to adapt the book, not to turn the book into an opera. I knew I'd have to search for and find fresh ways of entering into the story. As well, the scope of the work itself has evolved. This was first commissioned as a youth opera, so I was thinking about an experience for the whole family. When it became a mainstage production, I had the opportunity to grow the work, build in new songs and unfurl the work in new ways. The gift of this creative process was that it afforded new ways for me to envision my father's story and the lands that have made him possible. Laos was the most heavily bombed nation in the world only the world didn't know it. What would those mountains sing if they could? Or the dogs that we left behind in Thailand...the pets that all refugees must leave behind when they are resettled...what were those words and feelings...how would they sound set to music? The machines my father spent years toiling by when his supervisors would say, "Bee, you are here to talk to the machines, not to use."--did they hear his loneliness, the words weighing him down and lifting him up?

Do you have a favorite aria in this production?

In the workshop, I was surprised by the emotions that welled up inside of me when in the jungles of Laos, fleeing from enemy soldiers, young Chue scoffs at notions of romantic love and her mother sings, "You say this now, but I've been young before. Beneath a different sky, under the watch of a new moon, I was young once. Along a trembling river, beside a growing village, I was young once....my heart is a warm place because I have known love." I also loved the area Chue sings to her unborn child later on as her new husband leaves her in the jungle, "Dreamers often leave, they make promises they don't have to keep." They are separate arias but they are also deeply connected to the bond between a mother and her child.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show?

I love the moment when the two sisters, Kalia and Dawb, are setting up their first office together as professionals, when they are reflecting on their journey, shared hopes and dreams, and they sing, "Sisters are life partners, too." I adore the memory of the two girls sleeping in a room where "the cold came through the walls" and their "feet rested side by side" and they shared "their bodies' heat."

What do you hope the audiences take away from seeing this production?

This is a story about a refugee family finding a pathway to the future in a new land. We live in a world that is creating more and more refugees all the time. My hope is that audiences will understand this work as a cry for peace, a hope for humanity, a belief "that time holds treasures the heart is afraid to believe in."

What are your favorite local spots?

I love Hmongtown and Hmong Village. In a world where my people have no country, it is such a sweet thing to know that there are spaces in which we can be together, speak the language, eat the food, look and see how we are alive, how we are a people...even without a country to call us home...how we are a nation unto ourselves, citizens of a shared experience.

Composer Jocelyn Hagen:

What does it mean to take this story and adapt it into an opera?

This is an incredibly powerful story and perfect for the operatic stage. I have also been aware from the beginning that it is not MY story. I have taken great care in honoring Kalia, the librettist and storyteller, her father Bee, the actual song poet, and the Hmong community. In many ways during this creative process I have felt more like a doula than a composer, and it has been a true honor to help tell this story.

What was/is the creative process like? Did/are you face any challenges?

Most definitely! In the beginning I tried to set the Hmong language to music and failed miserably. But this led to a remarkable creative breakthrough! Bee, the Song Poet himself, ended up composing those lines of music, and I merely transcribed his melodies. It was the perfect answer. Sometimes the biggest problems forge the most creative and beautiful solutions.

Do you have a favorite aria in this production?

It's so hard to play favorites, but I think I love the lullaby aria the most. Chue, Bee's wife, is standing in the jungle alone, bomb sounds all around her, and she sings to her unborn daughter. I have been singing it in my head for months.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show?

I believe the love story in scene 2 will be stunning. It's a very sweet love story, and we decided to add a dance sequence in the middle. I've always loved composing music for dance.

What do you hope the audiences take away from seeing this production?

Kalia wrote the book "The Song Poet" so that Americans would see men like Bee more clearly. At the time, Bee didn't think his story was worth telling ~ "who would want to read about me?" It turns out that a lot of people do. He made incredible sacrifices for his family. It is so evident that he has a huge heart filled with kindness. It is very hard to watch him being treated poorly in his factory job during the second act. I know that audience members will walk away remembering the importance of family. He is a reluctant hero who gave his children everything he could, and in response they have flourished.

What are your favorite local spots?

I love to tell people that I was born a few blocks from Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, so I am destined to have my work performed there!

Spoon and Stable is probably my favorite restaurant in the area, even though I've only eaten there a few times. Going to Hell's Kitchen for brunch is another favorite spot.

Stage Director Rick Shiomi:

What does it mean to take this story and adapt it into an opera?

I think this production of THE SONG POET is tremendously important. It is groundbreaking for a Hmong American story to be in the operatic form as the first of its kind and it brings a very personal family story about the refugee experience to audiences that might only see it in the news. And this production is a major step in the right direction for opera, in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion on many levels, from the subject matter, to the creative team and all the performers.

What was/is the creative process like? Did/are you face any challenges?

The latter part of the creative process has been quite wonderful, with Kao Kalia Yang as the librettist, Jocelyn Hagen as the composer and Tiffany Chang as the conductor, along with the whole MN Opera production team. There has been constant communication of ideas and changes that have emerged as should be expected in the production of a world premiere. We are creating a new pathway and discovering a whole new world in the process. And the cast of performers has been both talented and great to work with. But there were considerable changes early on as the project shifted from originally being part of the youth programming to being a regular part of the season at the new Luminary venue.

Do you have a favorite aria in this production?

There are so many wonderful arias in the production but if I had to choose one as my favorite, it would actually be a short phrase by the main two characters, Bee and Chue, which has the lyrics "Here in America..." which often resonates in my mind because of the meaning and melody.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show?

My favorite moment right now is the scene where Bee and Chue meet. He's a young man with unruly hair and no shoes, but he has a special talent and charisma. She is a young woman who has the strength to match his and together they will take a journey through war and refugee camps that changes not only their lives and the lives of their children, but changes America itself.

What do you hope the audiences take away from seeing this production?

I hope that audiences see the human side of the refugee experience and the great value refugees and immigrants in general bring to America. There are so many powerful and emotional moments in the play and I have felt them in rehearsals, time and again

There is a whole dissertation to be written and understood about how immigrants and refugees have been, are now and will in the future be key to the continued development of the United States.

What are your favorite local spots?

If local means where I live, then I'd say Prima Restaurant on Lyndale Ave South. If local means around the MN Opera rehearsal space and the Luminary, then I'd say In the Loop Coffee Co.

Conductor Tiffany Chang:

What was/is the creative process like? Did/are you face any challenges?

I'm grateful that we had the opportunity to workshop the opera with the support of Jocelyn, the composer, in December. She provided insight into her creative process, which included incorporating the actual melodies composed by Bee Yang, the original Song Poet. Knowing this was powerful in giving us an intention behind finding a genuine approach to the music.

One challenge for me was to recognize that I could not possibly have answers to everything given the amount of uncertainty in a new work and also the unfamiliarity with the Hmong language (some passages are sung in Hmong). I believe that we are smarter together, so I was mindful in creating a psychologically safe space where anyone in the room can contribute regardless of rank. It was important to frame mistakes as a necessary part of the process of learning and discovery - to hold space to take risks, try things different ways, and encourage conversations where we challenged each other's perspectives.

Having the input of the masses and the help from each other was crucial in exploring the work and empowering ourselves to bring it to life authentically.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show?

I love the scene with the two sisters, Dawb and Kalia, when they've become adults. It especially warms me because I feel everything on stage. I also have one younger sister, and we've shared a journey together from when we first immigrated to the US at age 7 and 3 from Taiwan. It hits home when the sisters sing, "Sisters are life partners too."

What do you hope the audiences take away from seeing this production?

I hope the audience walks away feeling seen. This is a story about love, family, sibling bonds, culture shock, oppression, separation, hope, peace, and finding meaning in. life. Any person would be able to resonate with one of these human experiences. I hope they will be able to see themselves and feel the emotions that surface - and perhaps even discover a bit of healing. I know I certainly have.

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