The Classic Cantonese Opera 2007 - 28 Apr 07

Shanghai YUE Opera is coming to town on 22-23June

On June 22 and June 23, the Marine Parade CC Shanghai Yue Opera Appreciation Club is organising the Shanghai Yue Opera Charity Nights to help Food from the Heart raise funds.

The highlight of the show will be 2 famous stars from Shanghai, Ms Hua Yi-Qing and Ms Huang Hui, who together with members of the Marine Parade CC Shanghai Yue Opera Appreciation Club will perform in this year's Opera.

Due to a very successful production in 2006, the Club has decided to put together another very exciting performance this year presenting a full-length opera "The Legend of Song Hong".

This is a historical epic based on events that happened during the end of Eastern Han Dynasty and the beginning of Western Han Dynasty. It is a heart-warming story about the virtues of Song Hong, a premier who served under Emperor Liu Xiu, founder of Western Han Dynasty.

This year’s performance will be even greater than last year's, as the Club will be having a Director from China to direct the show. There will also be brand new costumes from Shanghai.

Watch out for more details! The Opera will be at Victoria Theatre

Nan Yin at Tian Hock Keng

It's Guan Yin's birthday today (2M19) and Hokkien Huay Kuan with Siong Leng Nan Yin group staged a Nan Yin concert in front of the Hokkien Huay Kuan building with the Tian Hock Keng opened for worship.

By 8pm, almost all the seats were filled up and some spare chairs were being placed.

For this concert, the troupe spared no efforts in getting the performers to dress in Tang Dynasty dresses - wow, they looked good, especially on the ladies!

The first song was in dedication to Guan Yin, singing praise of Guan Yin and telling about the three importants dates of celebration in honour of Guan Yin, 2M19, 6M19 and 9M19 (in lunar calendar, month-date)

This night was a night of the younger generation. The older members only performed on the first song dedicated to Guan Yin. The younger ones took over from there with the songs, ensemble and even one with a dance, all very beautifully cheorographed.

Thanks to Kevin Ang, he has produced an English edition pamphlet explaining about Nan Yin and Tian Hock Keng. I hope to be able to get his copy in pdf so that you could also download to read. In the next performance, perhaps, a similar copy in different languages could be made available in the internet.

An ancient song and music, an ancient language - the origin of Tang and the Hokkiens - have been preserved and today, thanks to the dedication of the Siong Leng Musical Association, we get to enjoy what our grandparents have been enjoying in the early years in Singapore.

See you there on 6M19? 1st August 2007. Bookmark in your diary!