“Dear Friends, Family, and Friends of Friends and Friends of Family: IT’S A BOOK! Weight: About a pound. Pages: 322.”
So begins the e-mail that “proud godparents” Martha Liao and Robert Lipsyte have sent to announce the publication of “Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met,” a book by Liao’s husband, Hao Jiang Tian, and New York Times music writer Lois B. Morris. Lipsyte, an author and Morris’ husband, wrote the foreword; the publisher is John Wiley & Sons in association with Lincoln Center Books.
The local angle, of course, is that much of Tian’s musical training was here in Denver, first at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music and then at Opera Colorado. And a contingent of his local fans flew to New York to attend the May 4 release celebration held at the Asia Society. A week later, the China Institute hosted a similar event at the Metropolitan Opera.
In the book, Tian relives his coming of age in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution; becoming separated from his military officer/musician parents whose Communist loyalties were under suspicion; and the steady climb to becoming the first world-class Western opera singer from China. Publisher’s Weekly says Tian’s description of “the rigors of operatic training and backstage blowups, along with career details (roles from Mephistopheles to poet Li Bai) and name-dropping (Pavarotti, Domingo) are a fan’s delight. Most remarkable, however, is the way that Tian’s concern for family and country, along with the details of his life in music, create a metaphor for an emerging self-awareness.”
Denise Gliwa was among the Denverites in New York and tells us that Shirley Young hosted a dinner party at her home following the Asia Society function, with guests including Academy Award winning director (“Brokeback Mountain”) Ang Lee; composer Tan Dun; and Amy Tan, whose book, “Bonesetter’s Daughter,” opens in operatic form on Sept. 13 at the San Francisco Opera with Tian in a starring role.
Others at the Young party: Nautica founder David Chu; Silas Chou, co-chairman of Michael Kors; businessman and Vail resident Oscar Tang and his wife, Argie; and Denverites Joy Burns, Dan Ritchie and Gayle Ray.Also entertaining
The Morehouse College Glee Club made another visit to Denver, delighting a crowd of alumni and friends at a concert held at New Hope Baptist Church.
Bennie Williams was a point person for the event, which included a chance to mix and mingle over refreshments served in the church social hall.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also,
