‘The Big Swim’ 2025

The Big Swim celebrates Lunar New Year with a witty, heartwarming one-act opera sure to delight families and opera lovers alike! In this retelling of the Jade Emperor and the Great Race — a fable that sets the order of the 12 animals in the zodiac calendar — the animals learn to put aside fierce competition to instead care for and support one another, side by side.

Commissioned by Houston Grand Opera in partnership with Asia Society Texas, The Big Swim fuses diverse influences into a single, compelling story, intentionally crossing boundaries between traditional and modern, Eastern and Western, and classical and non-classical. The work will be presented at Asia Society Texas as part of its Lunar New Year festivities and will be preceded by activities, including shadow puppets, calligraphy demonstrations, and an original children’s dance piece by Nao Kusuzaki celebrating the Year of the Snake.