music by David Hanlon
libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann

directed by Mary Birnbaum
conducted by Kelly Kuo

commissioned by Santa Fe Opera for Opera for All Voices

orchestration workshop, University of Michigan

The elemental landscape of an archetypal Mediterranean island. A village by the sea. 12-year-old Orisa and her father go fishing on the anniversary of Orsia’s mother’s death and catch a refugee boy like a fish out at sea.

Who is this boy? Where is his family? And why won’t he speak? Determined to find the boy a home, Orsia makes her way through a village of turned backs and closed doors. Only the Pigeon Keeper, an outsider from far away, responds to the boy, serving as the key that unlocks the child’s voice, which in turn, serves as balm for a family made brittle by loss.

A fable for today, this magic-realist tale explores the myriad ways we respond to “the Other” in the face of today’s mass migrations and celebrates the kindness of strangers, the power of human connection, and the unexpected places we find home—and family.