Houston Grand Opera and the Asia Society Texas will host the world premiere of The Big Swim, created by composer Meilina Tsui and librettist Melisa Tien.

The Big Swim draws upon a vast range of cultural elements and stylistic influences, with Tsui’s score incorporating opera buffa, Peking and Cantonese opera, Gregorian chants, American and Asian pop music, animated musicals, and more. In Tien’s modern take on the classic story, notions of individualism and rivalry are gradually replaced by a sense of community and camaraderie among the 12 Zodiac animals. At the end of the race, the characters gather to sing a song of unification and friendship.

Crossing boundaries between the traditional and modern, Eastern and Western, and classical and non-classical, the witty, heartwarming one-act opera - Houston Grand Opera's 76th world premiere - represents the fifth collaboration between Houston Grand Opera and the Asia Society Texas. The interactive retelling of the great race between the 12 animals of the zodiac calendar will be presented each year as part of Asia Society Texas' Lunar New Year festivities.