The Snowy Day

Music by Joel Thompson
Libretto by Andrea Davis Pinkney

SNOW BALL

A young boy wakes to find his world magically transformed overnight—blanketed in fresh, glittering snow. Ezra Jack Keats’ 1962 book is a joyful, wonder-filled adventure through the city streets that became an equally delightful opera: the tale of Peter’s first snow day on his own.

In 2016, Andrea Davis Pinkney’s libretto started as an homage to that book—a poem entitled A Poem for Peter. Then composer Joel Thompson, who had already gained attention for his choral work Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, brought accessibility and emotionally rich musical language to this children’s opera.

The Snowy Day had its world premiere in 2021, produced by Houston Grand Opera, following a long trajectory of a book that featured a Black child as its hero at a time when such representation in children’s literature was rare.

An Opera in One Act Based on The Snowy Day, a book by Ezra Jack Keats

Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera
Premiered by Houston Grand Opera in December 2021
Original Production directed by Omer Ben Seadia

Artistic Staff

Conductor
Joseph Young

Stage Director and Choreographer
Eboni Adams

Set Designer
Amy Rubin

Costume Designer
Jessica Jahn

Wig & Makeup Designer
Andrew Elliot