GBA4 | GBAFOCUS Friday, October 23, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY

Music Experiments with adapting opera to a more popular, user-friendly format were already afoot in HK when Pop goes the opera COVID-19 struck. The pandemic has opened up newer possibilities for a centuries-old art form. Neil Li reports.

Bel Canto Singers’ When Mozart Meets Da Ponte, in which classical songs were jazzed up by introducing contemporary music dense an opera to its core and keep the essence of the and a capella singing, was streamed online on account of the pandemic-related restrictions on live shows.PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY story-telling.”

hen Lucy Choi was pursuing a master’s In tune with today’s listeners degree in London, she would take advan- While More Than Musical has adjusted the format tage of the student discount tickets to of opera performances, others are trying to appeal to attend performances at the renowned Roy- modern music tastes. Local vocal ensemble Bel Canto alW Opera House. It was amazing how clearly the singers’ Singers kicked oˆ the Jockey Club New Arts Power arts voices carried across the theater, even to the nosebleed festival last month with their pop-opera When Mozart section. Grey-haired patrons formed the bulk of the audi- Meets Da Ponte. The show featured rearrangement of ence, which made Choi wonder if she wasn’t a bit weird for songs composed by Mozart and written by the librettist enjoying opera at a young age. Lorenzo Da Ponte with contemporary elements such as “I felt out of place as I was usually the youngest person in pop, rock, jazz and a capella thrown in. the audience. But it also got me thinking if there was any- David Quah, an accomplished tenor and music director thing we could do to make opera more accessible to young of Bel Canto Singers, came up with the idea after trying people. Why can’t we share this joy together?” Choi asks. to get his children interested in opera. “When they were Singing classical Italian arias with younger, they would tell me that my kind of music was Shorter, immersive and relevant bossa nova music playing in the old. So I tried to jazz up classical music songs with diˆ er- Before fi lms, television, and the internet emerged, opera background was a challenging task ent styles on the piano and they said they liked it better.” was one of the major sources of entertainment and at the for the cast of When Mozart Meets Da Quah created a light-hearted storyline to connect center of people’s social lives. With the advent of instant Ponte. RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY his chosen songs from the repertoire of Mozart and Da and on-demand entertainment options, which are better Ponte. He experimented with the songs, incorporating suited to present-day urban lifestyles, the interest in opera diˆ erent musical styles and elements until he had found began to wane. Today, the majority of opera attendees in something that sounded good. Europe and the US are middle-aged or older. Quah says the biggest challenge of the show had to do The situation is no diˆ erent in Hong Kong where the More Than Musical’s with the rendition of the songs, for while the music was average age of Cantonese opera-goers is 60 and above. It adaptation of La Traviata went given a contemporary spin, the songs still had to be sung was primarily to draw a varied demographic of audiences down well with the audience as classical Italian arias. “The singers are trained classical that Choi and Rumiko Hasegawa co-founded non-profi t many of whom were new to singers, but when they hear pop or bossa nova music as opera company More Than Musical in 2016. They wanted the opera. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY accompaniment, they would naturally go into a lighter to make opera more relevant and accessible to peo- way of singing to match the music as any good musician ple across the board and help it gain more admirers. would,” he explains. Despite the challenges, the singers Like Choi, Hasegawa has a profound love for were excited by the unique concept and eager to adapt. opera which germinated when she learned to sing arias about 13 years ago. “I felt the love, the hatred Adapting to the new normal and all sorts of raw feelings from the songs and I dis- Planned as a live show, When Mozart Meets Da Ponte covered myself again,” she says. However, the people was streamed online, owing to the pandemic-induced Choi and Hasegawa were trying to convert did not restrictions on cultural venues. For Quah, there weren’t seem to share a similar enthusiasm for opera. They too many adjustments to make musically, although complained that opera was too long, the stories he says it certainly felt very diˆ erent performing to a were not particularly relatable and were often sung camera. The onus was on the director to rethink the in Italian, a language they did not speak and that it format of the performance, taking into account camera was only for the elite. placements and angles. “We certainly didn’t feel that way but they had a While the situation wasn’t ideal, Quah liked the idea point. If we ask people today to come and sit for four of being able to bring local productions directly into hours for a show and decide if they like it or not, how people’s homes where they can enjoy it in a relaxed man- many, especially young, people would really say they Rumiko Hasegawa and Lucy Choi ner. He has decided to livestream the company’s next do?” Hasegawa asks. co-founded More Than Musical to production as well. “Nowadays, if you do a show live, Their solution was to create performances that last only produce popular, more-relatable how many people in the audience are you really going 90 minutes, the average length of a movie, to be performed versions of classical western operas to get?” he questions. in a black box theater setting, making for a more immersive such as The Kiss of Tosca (right). More Than Musical’s latest production, Carmen Hong experience as the performers are only a few steps away RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY Kong, was postponed from August of this year to July from the audience, and weave contemporary references 2021 on account of the pandemic. The producers do into the story. However, the pair stresses the importance not seem too keen on streaming. “Live performances of upholding the artistic integrity of the original works as have a magical moment. It’s an exchange of energy and they collaborate with seasoned opera and music directors there’s a dynamic between performers and the audi- to decide on the editing. The idea is to craft a story that ence. When the magic happens, there’s nothing like it,” focuses on certain themes of the original rather than just Hasegawa says. come up with a highlight reel. They are hopeful of being able to put on the show next More Than Musical has presented two major produc- year. However, they also have a contingency plan, just in tions so far: The Kiss of Tosca and La Traviata, succeed- case, to replace the international cast of Carmen Hong ing in drawing many opera novices to the show. Most Kong with local singers and musicians while the stage viewers thought the show was fun — a bit like an Italian director directs via video conferencing. musical. Seasoned opera-goers were impressed with the However, Choi believes technology can play a role in quality of the productions and pleasantly surprised to popularizing opera in the future. “Museums are using see an opera being performed so close to the audience VR technology to make their spaces bigger and more seating area. interactive. If we can do the same thing with opera, we “Opera is a human drama and it’s a relatable story but can make it very fun and creative. Why do you need because of the format, people just don’t see it,” Hasegawa La Traviata produced by More Than Musical was staged in an intimate setting at ArtisTree’s black box theater. a stage when the audience can see everything on a says. “That’s why we take out all those obstacles to con- RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY headset?”

Stage Rekindling the spirit of classical music By ELAINE WONG crossover production featuring pia- ration happen simultaneously during Chiao shares a similar sentiment, used to them, so I just need to make IF YOU GO no solo, poetry recital, theater and the fi nal piece — Liszt’s Lenore — as saying that art is about interconnec- sure I anticipate my playing a second Spirits — Piano Solo Storytelling Theater personality Sylvia Chang art. A combination of live and live was intended by its Hungarian com- tivity. To consider music and litera- or two earlier,” Yen said with a smile. By Sylvia Chang, Chun-chieh Yen, Ai-chia, pianist Yen Chun-chieh from streamed performances, the show poser. Written by Louis Bertrand, ture as separate entities would be to Yen sounds optimistic about the Mathias Woo, and Yuan-pu Chiao Taiwan, musicologist Chiao Yuan-pu opens tonight at Hong Kong Cultural Petrarch among others, all poems “miss the point,” he says. future of the cultural scene in Hong Presented by Zuni Icosahedron Dates: 23-24 Oct and Mathias Woo — who is the co- Centre. have been translated from French Yen has selected some of the most Kong, Taiwan and the rest of Asia. Venue: Grand Theatre, artistic director of Hong Kong theater Essentially, Spirits is a piano recital and English into Chinese by Chiao. demanding and impressive pieces “In the beginning of COVID-19, I Hong Kong Cultural Centre, company Zuni Icosahedron — are presented in the form of an audio- While multimedia orchestral con- written for piano from the canon was quite depressed. It felt like I’d 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui coming together to present Spirits, a visual fi esta with a theatrical vibe. certs are not unheard of — think of western classical compositions. hit a dead end since I invested a www.zuni.org.hk Each music piece played on the piano Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s McDull Romantic masterpieces including lot of time and eˆ ort in organizing by Yen is preceded by a poem concerts, or Joe Hisaishi’s show in Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff’s international events,” Yen says. inspired by the composi- Budokan, Japan, for Studio Ghibli’s Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s “Luckily, it’s also thanks to the tion to be read out by 25th anniversary — combining clas- Dream, Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, pandemic that I feel that we’ve Chang. Music sical piano with poetry is indeed rare. Saint-Saens’s Danse Macabre, Liszt’s all matured and become more and nar- “We think classical music can pull From Annees de Pelerinage: 2eme refined, whether in technol- oˆ splendid lighting and projections Annee: Italie and Lenore will be per- ogy, our lives, or interpreting too, like pop music,” says Yen. “In fact, formed, with Chang playing 13 char- our work.” classical music nowadays deserves acters in the course of her narration. With the pan- to be executed in more exciting and Unrequited love, desire, and spirits demic dragging extraordinary ways.” He believes pre- fi gure heavily among the themes of on, perhaps senting literature in conjunction with the concert — hence the title Spirits. it is more music can help bring out the obscure Yen’s piano playing will be important Pianist Yen and subtle emotions that inform the livestreamed from Taiwan. Fortu- than ever Chun-chieh joins Theater personality Spirits, a crossover movement of the piano keys. “Rather nately, Yen had plenty of practice to rekindle Sylvia Chang and production staged than being ‘additives’ that reduce the coordinating live and online perfor- the audience’s appetite pianist Yen Chun- in Hong Kong, from meaning in music, or restrains the mances, having oˆ ered piano lessons for going to live concerts. chieh come together Taiwan through live mind, the surrounding elements are and seminars online in the last few Spirits might be oˆ ering an to stage Spirits, an streaming. PHOTOS more like guides, triggers or supports months. “There is often a delay in opportunity to get started evening of romantic PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY to the imagination,” Yen explains. livestreams, but that’s okay, I’ve got in that direction. music and poetry.