Let Me Mingle Tears With Thee

Music

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Choreography

Jessica Lang

Costume Design

Jillian Lewis

Lighting Design

Carolyn Wong

Scenic Design

Jessica Lang

Premiere

March 17, 2023
Pacific Northwest Ballet

The premiere of Jessica Lang’s Let Me Mingle Tears With Thee is principally supported by Deidra Wager, with additional support from Spencer Johnson & Braiden Rex-Johnson and Joshua Lieberman.

Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, written in 1736 when he was only 26 years old, is one of his most celebrated sacred works and composed in the final weeks of his life. The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Latin hymn which portrays Mary standing at the foot of the cross mourning the loss of her Son. Over centuries, the text has been a popular subject for many composers including Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Haydn, Schubert, Verdi, Dvořák, and Arvo Pärt. Featuring two voices, Pergolesi’s score is 12 movements, divided in two parts. The first half is in third person, with the text providing a bit of narrative storytelling, while the second half is in first person, becoming a universal prayer.

Program Note by Jessica Lang.

Artist Biographies

Jessica Lang

A celebrated choreographer of her generation, Jessica Lang is Resident Choreographer of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet. She has created over 115 original works on companies worldwide including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, PNB, The Royal Ballet, Vienna State Ballet and her eponymous company Jessica Lang Dance of which Lang was Artistic Director from 2011-2019. For opera, Lang has directed and choreographed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for Glimmerglass; choreographed Aida for San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera (WNO), Seattle Opera, LA Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago; and choreographed Salome for Des Moines Metro Opera. In 2024, Lang co-choreographed with Kanji Segawa WNO’s new production of Turandot, directed by Francesca Zambello.