TamaleDumpling
photo by Emra Islek
TamáleDumpling is a one-act opera commissioned by WHITE SNAKE PROJECTS for Let’s Celebrate! 2, an annual holiday series drawing on diverse cultural traditions. It was inspired by my family’s Thanksgiving traditions.
“Celebrating a multicultural Thanksgiving melding Mexican and Chinese traditions: A young Chinese woman brings home her Mexican fiancé at Thanksgiving to the great consternation of her traditional Asian family.”
What is a “tamaledumpling”? Is it a tamale stuffed inside a dumpling? A dumpling wrapped inside a tamale? Some blend of the two? I don’t know - it’s something I came up with just for this show, but have never attempted to cook in real life – yet! It’s a new dish that celebrates the blending of cultures through food.
Writing rhythmic songs about food has long been part of my existing style, and anyone who knows me personally knows how much I love to eat. Writing TamaleDumpling was such a joy, and a chance to celebrate my family’s holiday traditions and the family traditions of my partner Roy’s family. Food has always been the center of our family gatherings. Our Chou Family Thanksgiving tradition involves an East-meets-West homemade meal and 30+ people. … The first time I made a tamale was 7 years ago, when Roy’s Dad taught me how to make it from scratch.
These holiday gatherings celebrate the blending of cultures, generations, traditions, religions, and families. Yet they can often be filled with conflict and bring out differences in views: traditional/modern, East/West, old/new, elder/young, safety/risk... In TamaleDumpling, sharing food has a way of bringing people together and overcoming their differences. Food has a central role in helping people find common ground, no matter how stuck in their ways they might be.
TamaleDumpling is my first opera, first time writing a narrative work for other singers (not for me/my band), and first time arranging for a trio of violin, cello, and piano. A lot of firsts!
PHOTOS
“Let’s Celebrate!” is an annual series drawing on diverse cultural traditions to supplement traditional holiday programming with shows reflective of White Snake Projects’ beautiful and diverse community of artists and opera lovers.
This iteration of “Let’s Celebrate!” embraces the traditions and stories of Kali Puja (a celebration of the Hindu goddess of death and rebirth, Kali), Eid al-Fitr (the breaking of the fast at Ramadan), Puerto Rico’s coqui frogs, and a multicultural family's celebration of Thanksgiving.
Libretto - Stephanie Chou and Cerise Lim Jacobs
Composition - Stephanie Chou
Director - Laine Rettmer
Conductor / Music Director - Tianhui Ng
Performed by - Chelsea Baccay, Jeannette Lee, Joel Clemens
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
World Premiere - November 18, 2023 - White Snake Projects Let’s Celebrate! 2 - Emerson Paramount Center, Boston MA
Boston Public Radio Live from the Boston Public Library - November 3 2023 (excerpt scene 4) - Youtube link
VIDEO
Video from World Premiere performance
Boston Public Radio segment - start at 48:50 - Final part of Scene 4 cooking song
Start at 48:50
DURATION - 20 minutes
PREMIERE - World Premiere at Emerson Paramount Center, Boston MA - November 18, 2023
ROLES - NAINAI (Grandma Lily) – mezzo-soprano // KATIE – soprano // MAX – baritone
INSTRUMENTATION - violin, cello, piano
COMPOSER NOTE
Special thanks to Cerise Jacobs, James Wordsworth, Isamu McGregor, and Kyle Gordon who helped me tremendously along the way.
The piece is Dedicated to my grandparents: WaiPo, WaiGong, YeYe and NaiNai; and Roy’s family in New Mexico: Ray and Mabel Hendrickson, Kathleen Quinn