The Song Poet
March 9–19, 2023
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 an immigrant. With his poetry, Kalia’s father inspires hope in his family, polishing their reality so that they might shine.
Sung in English with English captions projected above the stage.
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Season ticket packages and individual tickets are available now! The Luminary Series is currently sold out. Please check back in August for ticket availability or add your contact information to the form below. Tickets for the Ordway Series are still available.
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Learn MoreSynopsis
Read MoreAct One
Bee has run away once again into the beloved mountains that surround his village after the death of a friend by gunfire. War planes zoom overhead. He climbs the tallest tree he can find …
Composer Biography
Learn MoreJocelyn Hagen is a pioneer in the field of composition, pushing the expectations of musicians and audiences with large-scale multimedia works, electro-acoustic music, dance, opera, and publishing.