"Tiny Finds The Mightiest"

a self-empowering children's opera inspired by a legend about the third day of the Lunar New Year

Ü received a NYSCA composition grant (FY2026) to turn her book, "The Strong, The Fast, And The Tiny", into an opera. The story is about three mice (The Strong, The Fast, and The Tiny) going on a journey to find the most powerful ally to help defend them from a cat, Lord Meow. They go to the Sun, and the Sun says the Wind is more powerful. They go to the Wind, and the Wind says the Wall is more powerful. They go to the Wall, and the Wall says mice are more powerful, because mice can make holes on the Wall. Feeling empowered, the three mice come up with a plan that combines their talents to defeat Lord Meow.

Although "Tiny" doesn't have physical strength, "Tiny" has a beautiful voice. In the book, my mice defeat Lord Meow with the plan. In my opera, Lord Meow breaks out from the trap and turns into a super cat that catches Strong and Fast. Somehow, Tiny ends up saving the day... (Come see the show and find out!)

The opera is about 30 min long. There is an optional chorus. There's a piano vocal version, a fully orchestrated version, a piano sextet version, and a piano trio version with different combinations of voice types for the leads. (SMTB, 3 M and 1 B, 4 M, and 3 T and 1 B)