Asia Society Presents North American Premiere Of MILA

Asia Society New York is excited to host the North American premiere of the renowned chamber opera "Mila," a thrilling performance about the plight of Hong Kong's domestic workers. The performance will be sung in English, Cantonese and Tagalog.

The hour-long opera features composer Eli Marshall, librettist Candace Chong, director Chu Hei Chan, conductor Neal Goren leads the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, and a cast of performers from Hong Kong, Manila, and the United States. The four-member cast includes Manila-based soprano Stefanie Quintin in the title role, Hong Kong-born soprano Amanda Li as Ma'am, New York-based bass-baritone Joseph Beutel as Sir and Hong Kong-born soprano Joanna Shao as both The Boy and The Girl.

Named after the story's protagonist, Mila explores the tensions and relationships within a Hong Kong family - an American husband, his Cantonese wife and their son - and their domestic helper Mila from the Philippines. Despite marital tension in the home and her employers' growing distrust, Mila remains dedicated to her Hong Kong family, soon noticing and becoming troubled by their child's precarious mental state - a situation that touches an old wound from her past.

Mila is presented by Hong Kong Arts Development Council in collaboration with Asia Society Hong Kong, and is sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office New York, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office San Francisco, and United Airlines. The chamber opera enjoyed a successful four-night run in early last year at Asia Society's Hong Kong Center and will now travel to New York and San Francisco.

In New York, Asia Society will be hosting two events:

Preview and Discussion with Producers and Cast Members

Special Guest: Award winning Filipina photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani, who herself worked as a second generation domestic worker in Hong Kong.

Monday December 2, 2019

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Asia Society

725 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10021

Members $15; Students/Seniors $17; Nonmembers $20

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/making-mila

Mila (Performances)

Saturday December 7, 2019

First performance: 3 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Second performance:7 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

Angel Orensanz Center

172 Norfolk Street

New York, NY 10002

Members $30; Students/Seniors $40; Nonmembers $50

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/mila

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