Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Excerpt Review: "Summer Snow"

Title: Summer Snow (六月雪)

Performer: Xu Yuxiang

Director: Wu Ziming

Background

"Summer Snow", also called "The Grievances of Dou E", was written by master scriptwriter Guan Hanqing in the Yuan dynasty, originally to show his dissatisfaction with the corrupted government of that era. This script has been adapted into many different modern opera genres, including Peking opera, Gaojia opera, Teochew opera and many others. The highlight of the show is the scene "Execution of Dou E", in which this excerpt here is based on.

Synopsis

Widow Dou E had been given the death sentence for she was accused for murdering her father-in-law, which was actually not true. The truth was that a father and son had lusted over Dou E's widowed mother-in-law and herself, and in order to make Dou E succumb to him, the son tried to poison Dou E's mother-in-law, but in accident, his father was poisoned to death instead. The son then tried to shift the blame onto Dou E's mother-in-law, but Dou E took the rap instead. Before her execution, Dou E made three wishes: first, her blood was to spill upwards onto a long white sash, and not onto the ground; second; Chuzhou will snow for 3 years to bury her body; third, a famine will take place after the snow for 3 years, to show her innocence.

Review

Xu Yuxiang is one of the all-rounded new bloods in the troupe. Not only can she sing well, she could act well in both wen and wu roles, and those in between. This excerpt is a good show to showcase her talent and there is a great deal of singing, acting and complex movements. If there was anything dissatisfactory, it would have to be the execution part, where Xu Yuxiang's landing on the ground should have coincided with the executing actions of the executioner, but unfortunately she landed too early, making that action seemed illogical.

Ratings

Script: * * * *

Music: * * * *

Directing sense: * * * *1/2

Acting: * * * *

Singing: * * * *

Final rating: * * * *

Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Excerpt Review: "Sorrowful Meeting At Shen Garden"

Title: Sorrowful Meeting at Shen Garden (沈园绝唱)

Performer: Zheng Yaling as Lu You

Director: Wu Ziming

Background

"Sorrowful Meeting at Shen Garden" is the final scene of "Lu You and Tang Wan", an award-winning Zhejiang Yueju opera show starring Mao Weitao and Chen Huiling as the title roles. This excerpt has been adapted into Teochew opera before as well.

Synopsis

After leaving home for three years, Lu You returned to his hometown full of thoughts. While Lu You is famed for his talent in poetry and passion in politics, his marriage with his cousin Tang Wan was unfortunately a failure. Old Madam Lu was so upset that Lu You's relationship with her had distanced since his son got married, and henced tried ways to separate them. To ease the tension, Lu You decided to leave for Fuzhou, not before writing a secret letter to Tang Wan, asking her to wait for 3 years for his return. Old Madam Lu got hold of the letter, and amended the letter so that it would read "wait for a hundred years", in an attempt to make Tang Wan think that Lu You is trying to divorce her. Tang Wan saw through old Madam Lu's tactics, and deciding not to create more tension between the mother and son, she decided to get remarried to Lu You's friend, Master Shen. This day, when Lu You arrived at Shen's Garden, he chanced upon Tang Wan again, and was shocked that everything had changed. In sorrow, he penned his famed poem "Phoenix Hairpin" on the walls of the Shen's Garden.

Review

Zheng Yaling has got her own singing style, which can be considered her asset. However, in terms of shenduan, she is relatively weaker. Fortunately in this excerpt, the gestures are all modeled after Mao Weitao's movements in the original Yueju version, and I feel that Yaling performed better now, except for the final sword dance, which I felt she did not make full use of the duration of the music. Having said so, it is still debatable as to whether or not the director should set a new directing style (in terms of gestures and costumes), instead of copying everything as they are from Yueju. To be honest, if one were to cover his/ her ears, and not look at Yaling's face, one would even be misled into thinking that he/ she is watching a Yueju excerpt.

Musically, I feel that this excerpt's composition is one of the more unique among all the other excerpts that the troupe is about to bring to Fuzhou for competition. Like in the opening of the scene, the "Xin Bei Diao" melody (新北调), which was usually meant for sorrowful scenes, was transposed from F to C key. This alteration of the pitch added a sense of spiritedness to the character of Lu You as a passionate politician. Also in the closing of the excerpt when Lu You was penning the poem and doing his sword dance, the music had been specially recomposed to suit Lu You's innermost feelings and conflicts.

Ratings

Script: * * * *

Music: * * * *1/2

Directing sense: * * * 1/2

Acting: * * * 1/2

Singing: * * * *

Final rating: * * * *

Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Excerpt Review: "Wu Han Kills His Wife"

Title: Wu Han Kills His Wife (吴汉杀妻)

Performer: Lan Haibin as Wuhan, Lin Sulan as Wang Lanying

Director: Wu Ziming

Background

"Wu Han Kills His Wife" is a very popular traditional show in various genres of Chinese opera. Based on the action choreography that was designed for the actors, I believed this show is based on the Gaojia opera version, this genre being famous for action scenes.

Synopsis

Wu Han was given an order by his mother to kill his wife, Princess Lanying before dawn breaks or else she would commit suicide. In oder to fulfill his duty as a filial son, he had to oblige and stormed back to his residence. However, when he heard Princess Lanying chanting Buddhist sutra by the side hall, he suddenly felt that he could not bear to kill his virtuous wife. Princess Lanying could tell that something was not right with her consort, and after much questioning, Wu Han finally revealed the truth. It turned out that when Wu Han was still young, Princess Lanying's father, Emperor Wang Mang, had killed a number of loyal subjects of the former dynasty in order to usurp the throne for himself. As Wu Han was still young, his mother never told him the truth until then. Therefore, in order for the secret rebellion force to have full trust in Wu's family to plan a comeback, Wu Han had to slay the daughter of the current Emperor. Upon hearing Wu Han's words, Princess Lanying knew that she had to die in order not to let her husband be in a dilenma. Wu Han could not bear to kill Lanying, and planned to protect her with his life. Princess Lanying knew well that would not work, and hence seized Wu Han's sword from its shield while Wu Han wasn't alert and commited suicide, leaving Wu Han full of remorse.

Review

Lan Haibin's trained in wusheng roles, and he's good at all the actions choreographed for him. However, his main weakness lies in singing, and there're quite a lot of singing for his role. Lin Sulan, on the other hand, is good at singing, but is less effective in executing all the delicate and complex movements set by director Wu. There are two very obvious flaws in their performance. The first is the part where Princess Lanying hugged Wu Han, saw his sword hanging by his waist and a sudden thought of committing suicide came to mind. Due to the fact that Haibin had not don the da kao (Chinese opera's version of full battle order) during average rehearsals, the hugging acting had caused the flags behind his da kao and thus blocking Yanling's face from the audience. Sulan then had to sweep the flags aside with her hands, and that looked rather unsightly. The second flaw was that the final falling to the ground action of both Haibin and Sulan (Haibin's to jump up and land on his knees while Lanying is to arch her body backwards and land flat on her back) did not coincide at the same time, and that made that scene less of an impact.

In terms of directing, I like the ending bits of the scene where the role of Wu Han was stomping the ground with his fist when he saw Princess Lanying lying dead on the ground; I find this action portray Wu Han's regret and agony very effectively. There was an earlier action whereby Princess Lanying was reminding Wu Han of what loving they were in the past, and there was a particular action whereby Yanling was to grab hold of the edge of her right watersleeve with her left hand, pulled it straight, and then wrap around her shoulder with it. It was unfortunate that Sulan did not manage to do it correctly on stage, for if she had executed it accurately, it would have given the audience the feeling of the lovey dovey atmosphere of a newly wed couple.

The music is nice, but nothing really very special.

Ratings

Script: * * * * 

Music: * * * 1/2

Directing sense: * * * *

Acting: * * * * 

Singing: * * * *

Final rating: * * * *

Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Excerpt Review: "A Village Girl's Sorrow"

Title: A Village Girl's Sorrow (女吊)

Performer: Yang Xiaoyi

Director: Wu Ziming

Background

"A Village Girl's Sorrow" is originally a very old one-man performance of the Mulian opera genre that was later adapted into Shaoju opera and finally further popularised by Chen Fei from Shaoxing Yueju Opera Troupe.

Synopsis

A lonely and vengeful female ghost hovers around, giving people the eerie feeling. Time is rewind back to the time when the female ghost was still a young, innocent village girl by the name of Yu Furong. Despite coming from a poor family, Yu Furong was nevertheless happy. However, everything changed one day, when Yu Furong's parents passed away suddenly. Having no one to depend on, she was forced into prostitution at the age of 14. She knew she could not escape, so she tried to get to terms with her new identity. Unfortunately, things just do not turn out well for her; years down the road, after having her youth wasted and caught some diseases along the way, she was thrown out of the brothel by the same people who dragged her in. Yu Furong was all alone again, and having no one to take pity or help her, she finally hanged herself to death and returned as a vengeful ghost.

Review

Yang Xiaoyi, one of the more promising young dans in the troupe, has shown great improvement since her last appearance in Singapore early last year. Back then her body language and voice were still rather unpolished, but now her shen duan is more solid, and her newly grasped singing technique sounded more soothing to the ears.

In terms of directing, I am pleased that director Wu did not choreograph this show exactly like the yueju version, as like what he did for most of the excerpts he had choreographed before. At the very least, I could see some originality in the performing style (in the Yueju version, Chen Fei used Chinese dance movement to portray the young and naive Yu Furong and 7-feet watersleeves for the vengeful ghost, but in this version, Yang Xiaoyi used opera hankerchiefs for the front part and long sash for the ending). The director also arranged another actor on stage (totally masked and without any dialogue) who represent the bad people (brothel operators, their workers and brothel patrons), which I think is brilliant as it gives this show a more dramatic feel. This character did not appear in either the Mulian Opera or Yueju version. However, what I find not good enough is the opening to the excerpt. Being a very "contemporary" show, I'd expect to see a relatively more refreshing directing approach, but unfortunately it was still rather traditional, in the sense that the ghost floats around the stage wearing what seems like conventional ghost costumes.

Music-wise, I'm very pleased, especially the part where Yu Furong was singing about her tragic fate of being thrown out of the brothel. The composer (unfortunately I do not know who did the music) arranged for the actor to sing "Xiao Kudiao" (小哭调), which is very suitable for sad weepy songs. What surprises me, though, was the usage of backup vocals to harmonise with the lead vocal to create a more moody, sympathetic feel to the scene.

Ratings

Script: * * * * *

Music: * * * * *

Directing sense: * * * 1/2

Acting: * * * * 1/2

Singing: * * * *

Final rating: * * * * 1/2

Yueju's "Romance of the Red Masion"

"Romance of the Red Masion" is by far the most popular show in Yueju opera, popularised by great Yueju actors Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in the 60s. This show had somewhat became the representative of the Xu-styled xiaosheng and Wan-styled huadan singing. But not many people would have heard of another variation of this show, performed in Yin-style (xiaosheng) and Yuan-style (huadan).

This alternative rendition was performed by the late Yin Guifang in 1962, and her leading-female counterpart was Li Jinfeng. I am not certain if Li Jinfeng was a Yuan-styled huadan though, but subsequent re-runs of the show in Yin'a troupe (Fujian Fanghua Yueju Opera Troupe) were all performed in this style, with Wang Jun'an and Li Min being the troupe's best representatives of it. Shanghai Yueju Opera Company had did a similar rendition in 1999 starring Zhao Zhigang and Fang Yafen, as a move to revamp this timeless classic.

Here are various clips of this new rendition, alongside the ones from the "classic" version, and it's not hard to see the difference in feel and style. It is to be noted that the version shown here are from the 2001 Hong Kong performance, which was accompanied by Chinese orchestra, while the original scores used in the 1999 Shanghai version was supposedly meant to be played with westen orchestra.

Hokkien Liyuan Opera: Li Yaxian

I went for Siong Leng Musical Association's "Li Yaxian" performance last Saturday afternoon, and the melody of Liyuan opera is still in my mind. Sad to say, not many people around me, including those who are into Chinese opera, are able to appreciate such opera, most claiming it to be too slow-paced.

Siong Leng's version of "Li Yaxian", despite having said to incorporate a modern-day character and some contemporary drama elements inside, is still rather traditional. The role of the modern-day character, a photographer, is somewhat a narrator to the different excerpts of the show (some scenes were snipped to make the show more concise). Along the way, this photographer "interviewed" the actors playing the various roles with regards to the show. I think this part is rather creative, for Liyuan opera, being a very ancient form of opera, might be too distant for many young people to be able to appreciate, especially how the characters in the show think and feel. By doing so, it somehow bridge the gap between the modern audience and the ancient roles of the opera. Besides the creativity shown here, I'm also rather satisfied with the performance venue. Liyuan opera is not known to be a opera featuring lavish set or grand casts, and I think the recital studio is just a perfect place for such a small-scale opera; the acting space is not too big, yet the lighting and sound facilities are good enough.

It's a pity I wasn't able to take pictures or do video recording within the venue itself, so for now, I'll just showcase two excerpts from this show, performed by Quanzhou City Liyuan Opera Experimental Troupe. The two excerpts here are "The Ball Game" and "Lian Hua Luo".

Hokkien Gao Jia Opera Excerpt "Three Thousand Taels of Gold"

Miko had justed posted a video of her troupe (Liyuan opera) rehearsing the part on "Three Thousand Taels of Gold" (from the show "Li Yaxian") in her blog, and now I shall post the Gaojia opera version of it up as well.

This version here is performed by Wu Jingjing of Xiamen Jin Lian Sheng Gaojia Opera Troupe. The singing aria for the main role in this excerpt, Zheng Yuanhe, is the same for both opera genres, with a slight difference in some wordings. However, as this excerpt here is intended to be performed as a standalone excerpt with little connection to the original show, it has been re-choreographed, and therefore those who are familiar with the Liyuan opera version of this excerpt may find this version a bit unfamiliar.

Hokkien Xiangju Opera "The Bridge of Mother and Son"

Showcasing here, are two clips from Hokkien Xiangju opera “The Bridge of Mother and Son”. Now some of you viewers, especially those from my opera troupe as well as those who had watched Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Troupe’s show, might think how come these clips don’t seem familiar. The version featured here is performed by Zhangpu County Xiangju Opera Troupe, and is actually the original version before Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Troupe revised the show and made it part of their repertoire.

Allow me to say a bit about the show. The script was written by the late Xiangju opera scriptwriter Tang Yinchang, who is renowned for his works like “The Tale of the Medicinal Stone” and “Protecting the Baby”. His masterpieces usually centred on family-orientated themes which touch the hearts of the common-folks. In this show, the plot is about an unfilial son Liu San, who forgot about his mother’s existence after he got married to Qi’niang. His mother, Madam Xu, got so upset that she was forced to attempt suicide but was saved by the magistrate. The magistrate was furious when he found out what happened and wanted to imprison the young couple, but was stopped by his wife. He then invited Liu San and Qi’niang over to hint them if they had lost anything valuable at home. The young couple counted everything they had at home, but missing out on Madam Xu. The magistrate finally lost his temper and wanted to throw them into jail. It was only at this juncture did Liu San finally recalled he had a mother whom he had not seen for a long time. After crying out to his mother, Madam Xu ran out to see her son, and both hugged together in tears. The magistrate allowed the young couple to bring Madam Xu home, but Liu San and Qi’niang were remorseful for their past actions, and suggested that they be locked up as a punishment. The magistrate agreed and arranged for them to stay for the night in the jail while Madam Xu became their invited guest for dinner.

In my opinion, Zhangpu County Xiang Opera Troupe’s performance standard is rather average, especially in terms of singing. Some of the actors actually sang rather badly. However, I think the troupe do score point in terms of their script, as I believe the late Master Tang was their anchor scriptwriter. Their music is also one of their strength too, and I particularly like their “Zasui” melody a lot.

With the demise of Master Tang, I’m not sure what the direction is for the troupe, and it has been quite a while since there was news from them. Hopefully the troupe will not fall apart just like that, for after all, they had produced quite a few well-received shows in the past.

Hokkien Liyuan Opera - "Li Yaxian"

Siong Leng Musical Association will be staging a Liyuan opera titled "Li Yaxian" at the Esplanade Recital Studio next month. This will be the association's first full-length Liyuan opera performance for over a decade.

The Liyuan opera has got the reputation of being Chinese opera's living heritage as it has got a long history of 800 years, and it was even said that the ways huadans in Liyuan opera moved and walked were actually inspired by how women really walked back in the Ming dynasty. The repertoire for Liyuan opera is also one of the rarest; some of the scripts dates back to the era of Song dynasty's "Zaju" opera and had already been extinct in other opera genres.

"Li Yaxian" is one of the most popular shows that are still being performed in Liyuan opera. It tells the story of a talented scholar, Zheng Yuanhe, who fell in love with a beautiful courtesan named Li Yaxian while on his way to sit for the imperial examinations. In order to get close to this beauty, Yuanhe decided to step into the "forbidden zone" - the brothel which Yaxian lived in. Brothel owner Madame Li knew this was a good opportunity to cheat Yuanhe of his money, so she decided to bring the couple together. After neglecting his studies and having used up all his money, the heartless Madame Li had Yuanhe chased out, and Yaxian used her own money to redeem herself to go in search of Yuanhe.

For Siong Leng's performance, however, there was a slight change to the script, for now, the love story of Zheng Yuanhe and Li Yaxian would be unfold through the camera lens of a modern-day photographer. That makes me curious over one point: this performance has been introduced as a "Liyuan opera", but is it going to be really a pure Liyuan opera, for it seems that there is a bit of contemporary drama essence involved. My guess is that it could be something like "Titoudao", a fusion of contemporary drama with authentic Chinese opera, just that in this case, the dosage of Liyuan opera would be much stronger, and lesser concentration on contemporary drama (maybe 10% or lesser). If that is the case, labelling this show as "Liyuan opera" might be a bit misleading, for those who is more into watching "authentic" Chinese opera. Nevertheless, I still feel that this show sounds interesting, and should be a good performance to catch.

"Li Yaxian" is part of the "Chinese opera delights" series by the Esplanade, and shall be staged on 11 August 2007, 3pm and 8pm, at the Esplanade Ricital Studio. Tickets are priced at $35 (senior citizens, NSF and students enjoy a concession price of $26), and is available at SISTIC.

Cantonese Opera "Qiu Jin -The Unsung Woman Warrior"

I was surfing Gatecrash (online ticketing service) when I came across this performance titled "Qiu Jin -The Unsung Woman Warrior". On one look, it looked like Yueju or it's sister opera due to the style of makeup, but I was presently surprised when I saw the words "Chinese Theatre Circles", and subsequently I recognised the "huadan" on the promotional picture as See Too Hoi Siang, the leading Cantonese opera actress in Chinese Theatre Circles.

Well to be honest, this form of makeup is no longer a novelty in the Chinese opera field, but in Cantonese opera, this is not very common, for Cantonese opera is known for it's very traditional ways of presenting their shows, which includes traditional white-and-red makeup and "da tou" hairstyles for "dan" roles, both of which were passed down for generations. I feel that Chinese opera should keep up with times, and by adopting this new makeup style, although superficial, can actually attract new and younger audiences who might find the traditional way of makeup very alien to them (though I'm still NOT in favour of staging a Chinese opera show in English or any other languages). One thing I'm not sure though, was whether the more "conservative" audience can accept this "unconventional" style, or whether or not CTC would really adopt this makeup style in this show (or even future shows), or is it just for promotional purposes that they use this style.

"Qiu Jin -The Unsung Woman Warrior" will be staged at the Drama Centre Theatre on 15 September 2007 at 7.30pm (1 show only!). Tickets are priced at $10, $15, $20, $20 and $50, and are available at Gatcrash.com.sg and Singpost/ SAM.

Scene from Improvised Yueju "Romance of the Carp Fairy" 2

This is the first scene from improvised Yueju "Romance of the Carp Fairy" staged early this year.



Quite a number of new insertions and changes had been made to the original directing, including the "underwater scene" prequel as well the short flute playing scene of Zhang Zhen (played by Zheng Guofeng). I like these 2 new insertions, as it has strengthen the plot to make this fish-man love more believable. The "underwater scene" had got a cold icy feeling, a reflection on the carp fairy's inner world, and the flute playing scene depicts Zhang Zhen's loneliness after being isolated and left all alone by his materialistic future in-laws at the Jade Pond Studyplace. The inner world of both characters coincide, and that formed the basis of their love; they truely understand the solitude faced by each other, and therefore it made sense as to how come both characters are willing to perish for one another towards the end of the show.

I'm quite pleased with this new directing sense, though these video recordings really gave me a big headache with all the shakiness. How I wish Shanghai Yue Opera Company can bring this show to Singapore to perform, hopefully at the Esplanade!

Scene from Improvised Yueju "Romance of the Carp Fairy"

Below is a scene from the improvised version of Yueju opera "Romance of the Carp Fairy" by Wang Zhiping staged early this year. This scene here tells 2 Justice Bao (one of which is a fake one disguised by a turtle spirit) holding a trial to tell apart two Jin Mudans (one of which is a fake too, impersonated by the carp fairy). The role of the real Jin Mudan and the fake Jin Mudan (carp fairy) are not easy to act, not because they have difficult stunts, but both actors must have very good chemistry and able to act like the same person. Afterall, they must give the audience the feeling that they're the splitting image of one another, either in terms of outlook and body gestures, except in some instances whereby the fake Jin Mudan has got to act slightly different to give audience the hint that she's in fact an imitation. In this case, I think Wang Zhiping and her co-actor (can't tell who she was though) had succeeded. Even their looks were quite similar too.

Zhangpu Da Che Gu Opera

Other than being home to the Bamboo Horse Opera, Zhangpu county is also home to 1300 year-old Zhangpu Da Che Gu Opera (漳浦大车鼓). Zhangpu Da Che Gu is a sub-branch of Che Gu folk opera which was once popular throughout the whole of Southern Fujian province, Chaozhou districts in Guangdong province and also Taiwan. The other notable styles of Che Gu opera include Tong'an Che Gu (同安车鼓) and Taiwan Che Gu (台湾车鼓阵).

Zhangpu Che Gu opera, compared to other forms of Che Gu styles in the region, is more robust, as it was originally performed by male soldiers in ancient times. It was said that Chen Yuanguang, the founding pioneer of Zhangzhou, brought his troop into Zhangzhou after a victorious battle, and in celebration, the soilderis performed a dance accompanied with strong drums and percussions. This form of military dance formed the basis of Zhangpu Che Gu, and centuries later, singing was added to the dance to spice up this ancient art form.

"Zhaojun Leaves Her Hometown"

Zhangpu Bamboo Horse Opera

Fujian province is considered "the hometown of Chinese operas", and this is not without very valid reasons. Other than having 2 of the oldest surviving Chinese opera genres (Liyuan opera and Puxian opera) in the province, there are many lesser known, but equally ancient forms of folk operas.

Zhangpu Bamboo Horse Opera (竹马戏) is a form of folk opera which was developed from the ancient Bamboo Horse Dance, which had existed since the Tang dynasty. Back then, this form of dance did not have it's specific name, but since dancers doing this dance would don a model of a horse made of bamboo and paper or cloth, people in later generations started to call it the Bamboo Horse dance.

Traditional Bamboo Horse Opera only has a vey small repetoire, with "Wang Zhaojun" and "Grievances of Wang Zhaojun" being rhe most commonly performed shows. At the peak of the opera's popularity before the cultural revolution, many opera troupes dedicating to Bamboo Horse Opera started adapting shows from other opera forms into their own reportoire, thus greatly increased this opera form's artistic value. However, this form of opera went into rapid decline after the cultural revolution, and was once thought to have become extinct. Fortunately, in the past decade, the relevant authorities in Zhangzhou region started paying attention to the preservation of this ancient opera form, and results had been rather positive. However, for this form of opera to really become popular again, it would require a lot more effort and publicity.

Currently there are no professional Bamboo Horse Opera troupes in China, though Bamboo Horse Dance can still be seen at times in Zhangpu and Nanjing regions in Zhangzhou, as well as various parts of the Chaozhou districts in Guangdong province during festive seasons.

"Song of the Four Seasons"

Malaysia's Tong Gek Lau Choon Teochew Opera Troupe

Today I went to Lorong Koo Chye Sheng Tong Temple to catch Malaysia's Tong Gek Lau Choon Teochew Opera Troupe (中玉楼春潮剧团) in performance. According to some sources, this troupe is a very famous troupe in Malaysia which had performed in various states across the Malay peninsula. The moment I reached the temple at about a quarter past seven, the troupe had already started performing, and I was surprised to find out that only very limited seats were left for their opening night's show!

The troupe started off with a "ban xian" operatte. Unlike the Hokkien opera which usually had "The Eight Immortals" (醉八仙， 八仙祝寿) or "The 3 Devine Stars" (三星会) as the opening sequence to the "ban xian" operatte, Teochew opera's "ban xian" (think only applies to South-east asian countries) had "The Premier of Six Kingdoms" (六国封相) as the opening to their "ban xian". Tong Gek Lau Choon's "The Premier of Six Kingdoms" were a disappointment to me; firstly, the actors acting as the horse boys were actually wearing "Carlsberg t-shirts over their red opera pants, and they didn't even bother to tie any scarfs or wear headgears over their hair! And then, it seemed like many of the actors involved did not really know the lyrics and dialogues to the show. I wonder how could that be, especially when "ban xian" operatte is the most important thing for an opera troupe performing for temple fairs. In some instances, the whole temple celebrations and rituals would have to be postponed if a travelling opera troupe is not able to turn up on time for their "ba xian" operatte! Our troupe's loyal fan Eric was at the show too, and he echoed the same sentiments as me. Luckily, the main show for the night was much better, much to my relief.

The show for the night was titled "Showdown at Fan Yang City". At first glance it sounded like some swordsfighting show, but it is not. This is a typical action-packed opera based on imperial settings. The story tells of a Chinese general who was under the spell of a babarian Princess during his conquest to the barbarian kingdom, resulting him to lose all his memories and tricked into believing that he was the Princess consort of the babarian kingdom. Meanwhile the treacherous villain made use of this incident to brainwash the Emperor into believing that the general had betrayed the imperial court by surrendering to the enemy forces. The furious Emperor wanted to execute the entire clan of the general, but they were spared after a loyal subject begged the Emperor for forgiveness. The wife of the general, together with his younger brother and sister, decided to travel into the barbarian kingdom to look for the general. Of course, the general could not remember anything, and the babarian Princess, being afriad that one day her consort might just remember everything, decided to send her men to kill the trio. Fortunately, they were later saved. After a twist of events, the trio learnt martial arts from various masters seperately and saved the Emperor from being harmed by the treacherous villain and the evil Empress. The Emperor then passed his throne to the Crown Prince, and the young Emperor sent the general's younger brother to launch an attack on the babarian kingdom. The war was a success, and the general was finally captured and regained his memory. After being trailled, the Emperor realised that the general was doing things beyond his wishes, and therefore decided to pardon him, and the general was finally reunited with his wife and family.

To be real honest, I do not feel that this show is of good quality in terms of script, as the first half of the show was too draggy, whereas the pace second half of the show was simply too fast and confusing. I supposed this show was intended to be acted over 4 to 5 hours, all the way till past midnight, as like how they were acted in Malaysia, Thailand or even Hong Kong. However, I think they can be forgiven, because they might not know the rules and regulations of public performances in Singapore, and they've "compensated" with good acting and singing from some of their actors. One thing I like about them is their loud gongs and drums, as I felt that this is the essence of Teochew opera. If a Teochew opera troupe's gongs and drums are not loud, it just feels empty. They also have got a relatively large casting strength, and having quite a number of young actors, the troupe appears more "appealing", in terms of packaging as well as being able to stage shows with lots of fighting sequences.

The troupe is performing till 4th of July, and tickets are priced at $5, available at the temple's admin office.

Scenes from "Premier of the Six Kingdoms"

The overwhelming crowd

This is one of the better actresses who has a very good sense of rhythm and her singing is not bad; however I overheard someone next to me said "She has a good voice, but she should go lose some weight!"

The Chinese opera circle is indeed very small; the actor on the left is Nop, an ex-opera colleague of my Thai friend Oh, who used to perform Teochew opera in Thailand

The female lead of the show

Video from "Premier of the Six Kingdoms"

The Multiple Faces of Hokkien Gezi Opera: The “O-Pe-Ah” Style

Among all forms of Chinese opera genres, The Hokkien Gezi opera, also known as Xiangju in mainland China, is one of the most unique kind of all. Other than being the only opera form which was bored outside mainland China, there weren’t many opera genres which take on many different forms and styles, depending on geographical location and cultural differences. In Taiwan, there is even a style of Gezi opera called “O-Pe-Ah”, which is unheard of in other Chinese genres.

“O-Pe-Ah”, the Hokkien translation of the Japanese term “O-Pe-Ra”, which was in turn a loan word from the English word “opera”. “O-Pe-Ah” style of acting is very different from traditional Chinese opera in the sense that it is very heavily influenced by Japanese culture and contemporary music and theatre. Imagine this: the leading roles of the show (obviously ethnically Chinese) churns Taiwanese pop songs to the accompaniment of modern musical instruments, and at times walk around the stage in kimonos, wearing Japanese clogs and brandishing samurai swords. Sounds bizarre? Well this was partly a result of Taiwan’s troubled past.

In 1937, when the Sino-Japanese war broke out, Taiwan was annexed under Japanese territory, and under the influence of the Japanese imperialism laws at that time, the Taiwanese people were forced to abandon their traditions and assimilate into the Japanese culture. Taiwanese Gezi opera wasn’t spared either; opera troupes had to either adapt themselves to Japanese culture, or get banned from performing. There was this classic example whereby “The Case of the Leopard Cat” (狸猫换太子) was adapted into Japanese setting; actors wore Kimonos, the role of the Emperor became “General manager” while the role of Concubine Liu became “the Mistress” etc. This kind of acting styled carried on until the end of the Sino-Japanese war, and opera troupes were finally able to revert to the old ways of performances. However, due to the immense growth of performing arts shortly after the war ended, opera troupes had to find new ways to attract audience. One of the innovative ways then was to incorporate some of the essence of Japanese occupation period’s way of “renovated” Gezi opera performance into their shows, and this is how “O-Pe-Ah” style of Gezi opera came into existence.

“O-Pe-Ah” style of Gezi opera, being deviated from the traditional style of Chinese opera, has a completely different repertoire of shows as compared to other opera forms. As such, one will not see historical stories or classic Chinese folktales in “O-Pe-Ah” shows, but mostly swords-fighting or family-orientated (cross-generation feuds, love-triangles, etc.) stories which are not independent of time and era. By traditional opera’s point of view, the “O-Pe-Ah” style of Gezi opera may sound like an absurd form of opera, but if one were to treat it just like contemporary entertainment without too much seriousness, such forms of performance can be rather entertaining.

(Video footages taken from Xiao Fei Xia Gezi Opera Troupe’s performance at Lor Koo Chye Temple on 21 May 2007, titled “The Twenty-Year Feud”; apologies for the poor video and audio quality as it was recorded off a mobile phone’s camera)

Hokkien Dacheng Opera

Fujian province is one of the major Chinese opera districts in China as there're more than 30 different Chinese opera genres, both major (Liyuan opera, Puxian opera, Gaojia opera, Xiangju opera, Teochew opera) as well as minor (Zhuma opera, Dacheng opera, Siping opera, etc.)

Dacheng opera (打城戏), also known as the "Priests' opera" or "Monks' opera" (师公戏, 和尚戏), was originally a form of religious ritual performed during funerals or Hungry Gohst Festivals. The priests and monks would perform in front of a paper tower built in the form of a city tower, and hence got it's name. According to historical data, this form of opera was formed at the start of the last century, but it's origin dates back to as far as the Ming dynasty. It has the essence of Nanyin music as well as southern Shaolin martial stunts, truely one of the rarest form of opera still present.

Sad to say, due to various reasons, Dacheng opera now has got no professional nor government sponsored troupes, and it seemed that there was only one surviving amateur troupe left in the whole of China. However, all is not lost; earlier this year, the Dacheng opera performed "Mu Lian Saves His Mother" in a performing arts festival in India and clinched the highest award. This show, which had roots in India, was the hot topic during the festival, and news of the opera troupe were constantly being reported in the local papers and television. Well, it seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel of this opera genre!

Teochew Wire Puppetry

Teochew wire puppetry is one of the most unique form of puppetry in China, and it exists only in Chao'an county in Guangdong province. In this form of puppetry, the puppets are controlled by hard wires which are attached to the back of the body and arms. The way the puppets are operated is similar to shadow puppetry, and it is said that the shadow puppetry was the ancestor of this form of puppetry.

Here are two documentaries featuring Teochew wire puppetry, which includes some fair bit of the puppets in action.

Quanzhou Marionette Show: Excerpt from "The Fiery Mountain"

Quanzhou's string marionette show has been regarded as one of the best forms of puppetry in China. No only are the puppeteers able to make the marionettes mimic human actions, they're good at doing innovative stunts like "face changing" and martial stunts.

The video clips are taken from marionette show "The Fiery Mountain". This is a famous excerpt from "Journey to the West", telling the tale of how Monkey God Sun Wukong tried to borrow a banana leaf fan from Princess Iron Fan to fan out the flames from the Fiery Mountain, but was rejected as the latter was still sore at Sun Wukong caused her son, the Little Red Boy, to be captured away by the Goddess of Mercy. Note that although all the classic elements of Quanzhou puppetry, from puppet movements to music, are present in the show, the songs and dialogues are actually in Mandarin.

Wuxi Opera excerpt: "Yuanzai Acknowledges His Mother" from "The Jade Dragonfly"

"The Jade Dragonfly" is a very well-known folktale in the Jiangsu/ Zhejiang region and has been adapted into various opera genres, including Shaoxing Yue opera, Wuxi opera, Yangzhou opera and Fujian Minju opera.

The story goes like this: Scholar Shen Guisheng came from a humble background, and in order to secure a better future for his clan, his relatives had him engaged to Lady Zhang, the daughter of a high-ranking official. However, due to character differences, their marriage was not at all blissful, and they were always quarreling. One day, Shen Guisheng decided to leave his home for sightseeing, and chanced upon a beautiful nun called Zhizhen. Shen Guisheng kept proposing to Zhizhen, and unable to resist his love, they started an forbidden relationship. Lady Zhang got tipped off that Shen Guisheng had been seen visiting Zhizhen's Fahua Nunnery, and brought her maids to come in search for him. Shen Guisheng was not found, and Lady Zhang returned home heartbrokened. Shen Guisheng, however, died of fright that very day, leaving the already pregnant Zhizhen behind. After secretly given birth to Guisheng's only son, Zhizhen decided to send the baby away to Lady Zhang, as a form of apology for "stealing" her husband, and also because there was no way she could keep her son in the nunnery. The nunnery helper, who was asked to send the baby over, did not do her job, and instead abandoned him by the side of the road. Luckily for the baby, he was found by the Xu household, who adopted him as their own son and called him Xu Yuanzai. Years later, members of the Shen household saw Yuanzai by chance, and was surprised that he looked just that Shen Guisheng. Lady Zhang then decided to adopt him as a foster son. A few years later, after Yuanzai become a village scholar, both Xu and Shen family started to fight over who should be the rightful "guardian" of him. This was then Yuanzai knew that he was neither the son of Madam Xu or Lady Zhang. After much findings, he found out that his mother was in fact Zhizhen, and decided to go to Fahua Nunnery to acknowledge her. Mother and son finally got reunited, and Shen Guisheng's death, which had been a mystery to Lady Zhang for over a decade, finally came to light. She was initially furious over the whole incident, and even accused Zhizhen of breaking up her family. However, after much self-thought, she realised that Zhizhen's plight was much worse than her; although Lady Zhang has got a foster son to acompany her for the past 16 years, Zhizhen had been weeping night after night missing her lost son. She finally decided to let the past rest, and acknowledged Zhizhen as the rightful mother to her foster son.


This clip here was taken from the production by Wuxi City Wuxi Opera troupe. Taking on the role of Zhizhen is Xie Zhiying, while the role of Xu Yuanzai was assumed by Pan Jingqiong. Xie Zhiying is a veteran actress in the troupe specialising in Qingyi roles, although in "The Pearl Pagoda", her portrayal of the clownish Fang Duohua was equally good. Pan Jingqiong is one of the up and coming actors in the troupe, specialising in both xiaosheng and laosheng roles. However, do not be fooled by his looks; he's actually over 40 years old already! I don't quite know why he only come to this far now at this age, but I supposed previously he has been overshadowed by another actor Xiao-Wang Binbin (son of famous Wuxi opera actor Wang Binbin), who had been the leading male actor since the late 80s.

The Multiple Faces of Hokkien Gezi Opera (XiangJu): "The Egretta Garzetta Goddess"

The Hokkien Gezi Opera (Xiangju) is the only Chinese opera genre that is borned outside mainland China, in Taiwan. Being one of the youngest Chinese opera genres, it is a very versatile opera genre that is able to adapt to different performance style.

Produced by Xiamen Municipality Gezi Opera Troupe in 2000, "The Egretta Garzetta Goddess" depicts a well-known legend of how Xiamen Island, also known as "Island of Egretta garzetta" was formed. Legend has it that the island was formerly an unknown island. A egretta garzetta fairy met and fell in love with a mortal who was known to be able to churn melodious music. A snake demoness got jealous of their love and tried to seperate them. The mortal was transformed into a rock while the egretta garzetta sacrificed her life to save her lover. This island was later known as "Island of Egretta Garzetta" in honour of this egretta garzetta fairy.

This show is unique in the sense that the show's music was accompanied mainly using symphonic orchestra and Chinese orchestra as supporting. In terms of performance style, it incorporated alot of western musical essence too.

Alternative "Butterfly Lovers" - Yueju Stars, Yueju-styled music but in not Yueju

This is what I had found on the net with regards to the "Butterfly Lovers", performed by Wang Zhiping and Zhao Zhigang. This is quite an unsual pairing, because this show in Yueju is usually performed by Fan-styled xiaosheng with Fu-styled or Yuan-styled huadan, and at times by Xu-styled xiaosheng with Wang-styled huadan; but having the role of Liang Shanbo being sang by an Yin-styled xiaosheng is not what I've ever heard of. Well, actually it made no difference, after watching this clip, since the actors themselves are not singing Yueju, but in Mandarin along with the Yueju-styled "Butterfly Lovers" violin concerto music.

How do you find it? To me, I may like Wang Zhiping, but then again this performance is not something I can really stomach. They sounded simply too odd in this clip!

Here is another clip, by Wang Zhiping again, but this time Huang Hui as Liang Shanbo. Still on the theme of using music from "Butterfloy Lovers" violin concerto, it sounded much better, since they're singing in their native Zhejiang dialect. However, there's completely no sense of any style of singing for the actors already. That is, Wang Zhiping totally don't sound Wang-styled, and Huang Hui no longer sounded like Lu-styled.

Pictures from Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Troupe's "Legend of Wang Cuiqiao"

Introducing here, is Zhangzhou City Xiangju Opera Troupe's latest masterpiece "Legend of Wang Cuiqiao"!

For those who had attended the troupe's performance at Lor Koo Chye Sheng Hong Temple during last year's Lunar New Year season would not be unfamiliar with this show, as this was the same show they performed for their finale.

"Legend of Wang Cuiqiao" tells the story of Wang Cuiqiao, an ill-fated maiden who lead an extraordinary life during the restive Jiajing period of the late Ming dynasty. Wang Cuiqiao was supposed to come from a well-to-do background, with a father serving the Emperor in the royal court. However, he was unfortunately being maligned by treacherous officials and thrown into the jail. Wang Cuiqiao, on the other hand, was being sold into the brothel. She was subsequently redeemed by a scholar Xu Wenchang, and were supposed to get married, but alas she was later abducted by some Japanese pirates, and due to unexpected twist of events, she became the wife of a bandit king named Xu Hai. Unlike other unfortunate women who landed in the hands of bandits, she did not suffer, as Xu Hai held her with high respects, and even treated her like a personal advisor. At this point of time, Marshal Hu Zongke was given the decree by the royal court to subdue the bandits terrorising the costal regions of southern China. Under the advise of Xu Wenchang, who happened to be his subordinate, he decided to send Xu Wenchang to Xu Hai's lair, hoping to persuade Xu Hai into surrendering his troops to serve the royal court. On seeing her lover again, Wang Cuiqiao was at conflict as to who should she follow, but as she was already Xu Hai's wife, she decided to let her love with Xu Wenchang become history. However, she was still trustful of Xu Wenchang, and she knew this would be a good opportunity for Xu Hai to turn over a new leaf and lead a normal peaceful life together with her. Xu Hai, of course, had no doubt in Wang Cuiqiao's foresight, and agreed instantly. However, neither of the trio knew that all these "peace talks" were just ploys of the Marshal to stem out the bandits. Not long after Xu Hai surrendered his 5000-men strong fleet to the imperial capital, Hu Zongke immediately accused Xu Hai of trying to stage a revolution by bringing his entire troop into the city, and had him and his subordinates killed. Wang Cuiqiao blamed herself for causing the death of her husband and his subordinates, and when the royal court decided to give Wang Cuiqiao an official title for doing a "righteous deed" by helping them eliminate the bandits, she made use of the opprtunity to ridicule the royal court for it's hypocrisy, and finally commited suicide as a form of apology to the deceased bandits.

Although this show had premiered in Singapore last year, it was however just a "sneak preview", and frankly speaking, this show was not meant to be performed in temple fairs due to the simplicity of the stage. This time round, having staged the show in full splendor at Fanghua Theatre (I believe this theatre is in Fuzhou) in late January this year, there was a vast improvement, in terms of scenogaphy, costume design and lighting design. Take a look at the pictures here!

Promoting Chinese Opera

I've read a post by a member of Thau Yong Musical Association in one of the local arts newgroups about recuiting new members yesterday. The contents of the post was rather sad, and although I don't know him, I felt I should help him a bit; afterall, we're all in the amateur performing arts scene here trying our bit to promote our own culture. Therefore I've decided to post the contents here:

Dear all,

this is Javier from Thau Yong Musical Association. I'm currentlycalling for new members to join in the society. I'm even willing tosponsor for your one year membership. For what reason, you say?

Because I'm close to dying (metaphorically and indirectly literally).I cannot be the only person, the only drop of new blood, pushing forthe survival of this 76 year old body.

I need help. I'm presently jammed in a situation where the society is 100% dependant on me alone. They are unable to propose for funding in English; they are unable to provide me with accounts in English; they are unable to think of new ideas to attract more new blood; they do not know how to use the computer to scan and protect the close to decomposing photos and music scores from long before the pre-war days;they only know the black vinyl disc player is going to die on us soon, and they will not be able to hear those tracks very soon.

If nobody come forth to help, and I collapse & or give up, thissociety will die, as the present members slowly wither into ashes.

The Han Music section members, their median age is 70.

The Teochew Music section members, we are the last complete group in Singapore and all of them have senior citizen concession passes.

The Teochew Opera section is more active, but the truth is not everybody has the gift for the stage.

Please do not be resistant of the idea because you say you do not understand the language. For your information, teochew opera isperformed in wen yan wen (similar to Shakespearean language) andproper Teochew (we speak in informal slang in Singapore, best e.g. Nang ker jiack lor ti. Lor ti or Roti is MALAY. Bread in proper Teochew is not even the characters we are familiar in Chinese - MianBao. The correct phrase is Mi Bao (or rice buns).

All those aunties and uncles who watch Teochew opera, do you thinkthey know wen yan wen? As a degree holder in Public Relations, I cannot even understand Shakesphere! But they watch and theyunderstand,because there is hand language and the music! The music is lovely... of the 300 Chinese operas in mainland China, it is the onlyopera that created their own drum genre of music out of opera. The teochew music is always so gently tragic, slowly seeping into thesouls... They appreciate and love it because this was their onlyentertainment when they were young, in short this is their culture.Where did they live when they were young, may I ask?

Singapore, my dears. This is our culture. Why do people say there is none?

But if everybody is ignoring me now, in my desperate plea, anotherpart of our history and culture will die. Because I cannot carry this burden of the hundreds who have lived and died for Thau Yong in herglorious 75 years by myself...

This is my own opinion and my own plea; the society did not ask me todo this or even know about this. If you want to laugh or gossip, please target it to me, because I can see what is going to happen, even though many are blissfully or maybe purposely ignorant ofthe dark pit they are encircling into, as they slowly step into their inevitable paths of no return...

Even if you cannot be bothered, please spare just 3 seconds to somebody, you think that may care.

Extremely burned-out
Javier
81617662

I agree fully with what Javier wrote about the classic language used in Chinese opera. Many people tend to use the lack of understanding of classic Chinese as an excuse to shun away from Chinese opera. To be honest, I've watched contemporary drama whereby the language used and directing sense is so abstract that after the show ended I was still trying to figure out what was going on throughout the show. And yet, most of these shows were almost fullhouse! So if these people can accept such shows, why not Chinese opera? Of course, I'm not saying that everyone should embrace Chinese opera wholeheartedly, but they shouldn't be too biased against it. Some people simply turn away from Chinese opera even without knowing what or how it looks like, probably not wanting their peers to ridicule them for having anything to do with an artform "for the old folks". I feel that's a pity; on one hand we are trying to promote our culture, and then our hard work are being put down by a small bunch of biased people.

Hence, I'd like to urge arts supporters out there to have a more "open" mind towards Chinese opera. It's fine if you don't seriously have no interest in Chinese opera, just don't treat it as some low form of entertainment solely for the elderly people and bored!

Shanghai Yue Opera Company to Stage Revised Edition of "Romance of the Carp Fairy"

Recently, Wang Zhiping and Zheng Guofeng had appeared in "Ming Jia Ming Duan Ren Ni Dian" TV programme in Shanghai talking about their latest show, "Romance of the Carp Fairy". This is yet again another remake of popular Yueju classics, alongside "Romance of the Red Mansion", "Butterfly Lovers" and "The Pearl Pagoda".

Wang Zhiping and Zheng Guofeng took the the lead roles of the Carp Fairy and scholar Zhang Zhen respectively. The story tells of a carp fairy who fell in love in poor scholar Zhang Zhen. She decided to impersonate the latter's fiancee Jin Mudan in order to get close to him, only to create havoc when 2 "Mudan" appeared at the same time in the Jins' residence. Jin Chong, father of Jin Mudan, hired Heavenly Priest Zhang to subdue the carp fairy, and under the help of Goddess of Mercy, the carp fairy escaped death, but was faced with a major decision: to either give up her love for the mortal scholar and seek to become an immortal, or to pluck out all the scales from her body to become a mortal being with Zhang Zhen. The carp fairy chose the second choice, and after enduring the pains of plucking out her scales, she was finally reunited with her loved one.

"Romance of the Carp Fairy" will be staged at Shanghai Yifu Stage on 26 - 28 February this month, ticket prices are between 60RMB to 300RMB available at http://www.tickets.com.cn.

Promotional flyer for "Romance of the Carp Fairy"