In Development

Moss Sutra

青 苔 经

The Finale

HUMiLity AS THE HISTORY GOES ON

Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo—Soprano, Chorus

Male Chanters

“The great Emathian conqueror 

Bid spare the garden of Pindarus 

When temple and tower 

Went to the ground” * 

Narrator

In the long long history, 

There are only few revolutionaries, 

Among us, 

Pushing us forward. 

As for the rest, 

They are but moss, 

Upon the ground.

Male Chanters join Narrator

These two

The few 

And the Moss 

Coexist 

Meandering 

Beneath

The Eternal Firmament

Deity in the background

Singing

In between worlds

Rootless

Flowerless

Nameless

Female Chanters

Seasons change

Rocks

Turn

To

Sand  

Rainbow Bridges 

Vanish

In

Clouds 

All

But  

The stillness is here 

This mossy land

It extends  

[Female Chanters unfold the fans in their hands to convey a joyful emotion] 

(Fan) This is how to open it

(Moss) It turn colors  

[Female Chanters fold back the fans in their hands to convey a sad emotion] 

(Fan) This is how to close it

(Moss) It turn colors  

* The passage in quotes is by John Milton. The word “home” in the original passage has been changed to “garden.”

Special Thanks

Rachel Cooper 

Ralph Samuelson 

Jin Qing 

Anne Harley 

Julian Bennett Holmes 

Dennis Malone

Nancy Reale 

Bill Yumans

Evan Eisenberg

Susan Jain

Will Healy

Wesley Chinn

Caitlin Ward

Julian Crouch

Andrea Miller

Patterson Sims

Katy Homans

Nigel Redden

Miranda Leonard

Leonard Porter

Opera America

Qian Yi       Composition and Lyrics