Mila
Asia Society Chamber Opera 亞洲協會香港中心室內歌劇
Mila in America!
After a successful world premiere in Hong Kong, Mila went on tour to the United States in December 2019. We are excited to bring this Hong Kong story to new audiences, giving a platform for Hong Kong and Filipino artists to collaborate with international artists on an innovative work that raises awareness of unique social issues in Hong Kong.
Mila U.S. Tour 2019
- December 2, 2019 (7:00pm) | New York City| Preview and Discussion
- December 7, 2019 (3:00pm) | New York City| Live Performance
- December 7, 2019 (7:00pm) | New York City | Live Performance
- December 12, 2019 (6:30pm) | San Francisco| Live Performance
The U.S. tour of Mila is generously supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in New York and San Francisco, Albert Chao, the Marka and Anla Cheng Kingdon Foundation, Morningside, and Stephen Riady Foundation. It is dedicated to the late Mr. Washington SyCip, former Honorary Trustee of Asia Society and Founding Chair of Asia Society Philippines, whose support also helped make Mila possible.
About Mila
Mila is an original chamber opera developed by Asia Society Hong Kong Center, the organization's first-ever commission. Called "bold, innovative, and quintessentially Hong Kong" by Time Magazine, Mila sheds light on Hong Kong’s pressure-cooker social environment, examining the territory’s tensions in a 70-minute intersection of home life and the workplace. Sung in Cantonese, English, and Tagalog, Mila explores the challenges and relationships within a Hong Kong family—an American husband, his Cantonese wife and their son—and their domestic helper Mila from the Philippines.
From its social themes to the artistic talents responsible for its creation, Mila is an inspiring collaboration among Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the United States. The opera is the product of an international creative team including the American-born composer Eli Marshall, the prominent Hong Kong playwright Candace Chong Mui Ngam, award-winning theatre director Chu Hei Chan, and New York-based music director Neal Goren leading the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble.
The four-member cast includes 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 Boy and Rosa. The Manila-based soprano Stefanie Quintin performs the title role.
After more than three years of development, Mila held its world premiere in January 2018 at Asia Society Hong Kong Center, welcoming over 600 audience members for four sold-out performances. In 2019, Mila will have its North American premiere at the Angel Orensanz Center in New York on December 7, followed by a performance at the Wilsey Center for Opera in San Francisco on December 12.
In the News
SCMP: Life of a domestic helper dramatised in chamber opera for Asia Society by Hong Kong playwright
Nikkei Asian Review: New opera looks at the plight of Philippine domestic helpers
Time: Inside an Opera That Uses Everything Including the Kitchen Sink to Depict the Lives of Domestic Helpers
