The opera was about a scholar Ru who promised to marry a courtesan Hua Yanhang when he finished the scholar examinations. Ru's sister found out the love affair and caused the breakup of the two. Nonetheless, all's well that ends well.
This production was unique in the sense that the stage was minimal. The orchestra, usually hid behind the wings, was put prominently on the stage. Gone were the scenery made of textiles seen in most Chinese Opera. For this production, it was replaced with video projection, with name of each scene depicted on the screen.
The Chinese calligraphy was written by Mr Choo Thiam Siew. He also wrote 6 poems based on each scene:
Back to the production. Lou Mee Wah was in good form cross-playing the male lead Ru Fengsheng. She had the presence whenever she came onto the stage. Aw Yeong Peng Mun provided some comic relief as the step mother Si Jie and Gary Kong portrayed Xia Ziqi, friend of Ru Fengsheng, with humour and good singing. They were supported well by 2 younger opera actresses Leung Sau Fong and May Choong.
Does the new staging work? Yes in general. I felt that for certain scenes, the chinese calligraphy would fade away and replaced with some colours on the screen, or some simple chinese ink paintings. As this opera is without much action, a minimal stage design may make the staging less appealing. Fortunately, the director and cast keep the production engaging most of the time. I also find the show 15 mins overly long.
Overall, this is a good effort to modernise Cantonese Opera. Will other groups adopt this method? Let's wait and see.
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