12 | Friday, December 6, 2019 EDITION | CHINA DAILY Making a song and dance about being single Two internationally-acclaimed opera singers make their he timeless question tion by Musica Viva’s direc- HK debut with Musica Viva’s The Merry Widow this week. not a tragic figure, so it’s opera role a year later. “I’ve of “will they or won’t tor general Lo Kingman also refreshing to see a character never looked back,” she says. they” comes to the features dance performances Melanie Hoare reports. who is actually comical and, Worra began singing in fore in Musica Viva’s and elaborate costumes that at the same time, relatable.” church and at school, but Tproduction of Franz Lehár’s give the opera an air of gran- Both Sandidge and Worra didn’t really consider sing- The Merry Widow, which deur. will be making their Hong ing opera until she was at opens in Hong Kong tonight. Although the opera was Kong debuts with The Merry university. It was the com- The romantic operetta stars first performed in 1905, Widow. While Worra has pre- bination of the power of the sopranos Caroline Worra Worra feels it is still relevant viously performed in Tokyo, operatic voice and perfor- (evening performances) and today. this weekend’s performances mance aspects that drew her Jessica Sandidge (matinee) in “The opera really comes will also be Sandidge’s first to the genre. Worra has now the title role of Anna Glawari, down to true love winning in Asia. sung more than 90 di© erent with Count Danilo played over all odds and certainly in “This is my first time in roles, including a number of by Richard Troxell (evening our world today, we all want Hong Kong — visiting and premieres. This will be her performances) and Jonathan to have love in our lives,” Wor- singing – and I’m thrilled to fourth time singing Anna in Beyer (matinee). ra says. “This opera is kind of have this opportunity,” San- The Merry Widow, a role she Worra describes Anna as a fun way to keep fi ghting for didge says. “I love that opera calls one of her favorites. a wonderful character to what our hearts truly desire. has given me this opportunity She believes that audienc- portray. “She is the perfect It’s nice in a turbulent world to sing this role and visit this es, too, will be easily drawn combination of femininity to have something that’s a part of the world.” to this opera. “I love the and strength, combined with positive reminder of some- From a young age, Sand- fact the music in this opera passion, compassion and thing as simple as love, but idge played the harp and vio- is something that everyone joy,” Worra says. “I’ve really also so powerful and mean- Caroline Worra, who has sung over 75 operatic roles in different productions around the lin. She studied the former at in the theater can hum and enjoyed having such a strong ingful.” world, is now in Hong Kong playing the title role inThe Merry Widow. university with the intention tap along (to),” she says. “The female character to play, one Sandidge was delighted at PHOTOS BY CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY of becoming a harpist. But quality of the music in the that really enjoys life, and this being asked to play a strong after taking part in a choir show is something I really production just enhances all female protagonist. “She’s audition she switched to vocal enjoy and it’s a big spectacle of that.” rather brave,” she says. “She’s performance, singing her fi rst of a show.” The storyline follows the adventurous and hopeful. life of Anna, a young widow She’s not a shrinking violet who has become wealthy and she has this opportunity IF YOU GO following the passing of her to start her life over again The Merry Widow and she does it in a way that’s Featuring the sopranos Caroline Worra and Jessica husband. A number of suitors Sandidge turn up at her door, includ- real. She doesn’t just become Presented by Musica Viva ing Anna’s fi rst love, Danilo. a lonely widow with a lot of Caroline Worra (left) Caroline Worra (left) and Richard Troxell plays Count Date: Dec 6 – 7, 7:45 pm; Dec 7 – 8, 2:30 pm Much amusement ensues and wealth — she goes out and rehearses in the lead-up Jessica Sandidge (third from Danilo (right) to Caroline Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall, Edin- to the staging of The Merry left) take turns to sing the Worra’s Anna in The Merry burgh Place, Central the opera is full of light and wants to live a full life. Even www.musicavivahk.org/the-merry-widow tender moments. The produc- though she’s a widow, she’s Widow in Hong Kong. lead inThe Merry Widow. Widow.

Festival Starry nights in Macao Film Review Payback time in Wall Street Katharina Grosse’s kaleidoscopic piece, Untitled, 2012. By ELIZABETH KERR barely survive on. Ramona decides to tap the old clients who ba® ingly Before jumping to conclusions got o© the hook for crashing the about Hustlers simply being “that global economy, and teams up with stripper movie”, or perhaps even Destiny, Annabelle (Lili Reinhart), more damningly, “a J. Lo movie”, Mercedes (Keke Palmer), and weak know this: writer-director Lorene link Dawn (Madeline Brewer) to get Scafaria’s Hustlers is the buoyant, back to business. Among the Macao entries is Strings of Sorrow, directed by Oliver Fa. entertaining, feminist heist romp Director Scafaria’s feminine Gary Ross’s bloated, lifeless, self- touch is all over Hustlers, and By SCOTT MURPHY satisfi ed Ocean’s Eight should have not just in the fact that none of been and wasn’t. the leads has nude scenes, or that An array of world-renowned fi lm stars Inspired by Jessica Pressler’s the female bond is positioned as are attending the 4th International Film 2015 New York Magazine article something to be treasured, even in Festival and Awards Macao which opened about a group of former strippers in times of confl ict. Lopez, Wu, Palmer yesterday. The list includes Carina Lau, a Manhattan club who stole a con- and the rest are allowed to be sexy Juliette Binoche, Lily James and Zhou siderable amount of money from without being reduced to pieces of Dongyu alongside directors Peter Chan their wealthy — and arrogant — meat. They have inner lives, com- and Cristian Mungiu. More than 50 local Wall Street clientele, Hustlers plays plex personalities and personal and international fi lms are being screened with the facts in order to create a motivations that guide and defi ne during the six-day festival, alongside fi lm- fast-paced and frequently funny them. Ramona has a ’tween-aged making competitions, masterclasses, drama that fl oats some genuinely daughter to care for; Destiny has a special retrospective screenings and a insightful theories and asks a few toddler and an ailing grandmother marketplace for industry insiders and universally timely questions about (Ho Wai-ching); some have expen- budding fi lmmakers to pitch projects. womanhood, wealth and account- sive tuition fees to pay, others have “The goal of IFFAM is to strive to be a ability. simply never been afforded any- festival that showcases the best of world The film begins in 2014 with thing resembling opportunity. It’s a cinema, and a platform to showcase the retired and clearly well-o© stripper cross-section of issues women face best of new directors and established Among the celebrity Destiny (Constance Wu) recounting that Ocean’s Eight didn’t even try names in our retrospectives and focus guests is Lily James, the story behind a series of robber- to address, despite coming on the sections,” says Lorna Tee, head of festival who starred in Danny ies that took place seven years earli- heels of #TimesUp and having the management at the IFFAM. Boyle’s Yesterday. er in an interview with a journalist zeitgeist on its side. The festival opens with acclaimed new (Julia Stiles). As Destiny tells it, we Though the story technically satire Jojo Rabbit about a 10-year-old boy meet Ramona (an absolutely lumi- belongs to Wu — the gang’s misad- whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler. nous Jennifer Lopez), the veteran ventures are recalled from Destiny’s Other highly anticipated fi lms in the line- star act at a strip club called Moves. perspective — the fi lm belongs to up include current critics’ darling The She’s the beacon the other women Lopez. It’s easy to forget Lopez Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and South Korean actress Im Yoon- look to for morale, and she’s gen- was an actor who branched out Willem Dafoe; Judy, a biopic of Judy Gar- ah features in the “Asian Stars erous with her time and support. into pop stardom, but Hustlers is land featuring Renee Zellweger; Aardman Up Next” category in Macao stars in She’s also making money hand over an aggressive reminder that Out Animations’ Shaun the Sheep: Farmaged- film festival. Derek Tsang’s Better fi st. The newest addition to the line- of Sight wasn’t a fl uke, and she’s don; A Hidden Life by cult favorite director Terrence will be able to interact with Days, to be screened at up is the unsure Destiny, whom a movie star for a reason. In her Malick, and Japanese director Takashi Miike’s First some of the stars and directors. the festival. Ramona takes under her wing. She hands Ramona is empathetic, furi- Love. I’m Livin’ It, about a homeless banker in Hong French actress Juliette Binoche helps Destiny learn the ropes — and ous, reckless, protective and wholly Kong, starring leading Hong Kong actors Aaron will take part in a conversation IF YOU GO the pole — and teaches her how to believable. Watching her and Des- Kwok and , which competed in last session to coincide with the 4th International Film exploit the rich Wall Street brokers tiny flit back and forth between Festival and Awards month’s 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival, will screening of The Truth, starring Macao with fat expense accounts and no frustration and adoration for each close the program. Catherine Deneuve and Ethan Organized by Macao Gov- scruples. The money train crashes other is one of the year’s best screen Films by 10 fi rst or second-time fi lmmakers will Hawke. The fi lm marks the for- ernment Tourism Office to a halt when the sub-prime mort- relationships, topped only by eign language fi lm debut for Dates: Until Dec 10 gage debacle kick-starts the 2008 Lopez’s mesmerizing entrance set be screened as part of an international competition Venue: Macao Cultural Singer-actress Carina Lau with a $60,000 prize. Among the competitors are director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Centre, Avenida Xian fi nancial crisis, forcing most of the to Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.” That Bellbird by New Zealand director Hamish Bennett last year’s Cannes Film Festival makes an appearance at Xing Hai S/N, NAPE, Ma- club’s dancers into jobs they can Oscar buzz is justifi ed. and Bombay Rose by Indian director Gitanjali Rao. Palme d’Or winner. Lily James Macao film festival. cao, and other locations. www.iffamacao.com Directed and New Chinese Cinema, meanwhile, features com- — known for her roles inBaby written by Lorene petition entries from around the globe that celebrate Driver, Cinderella, Yesterday and the TV period dra- who inherits the family business and Strings Scafaria. Starring the best of the genre. “We have expanded this section ma series Downton Abbey — will take questions from of Sorrow, a tale about a musical quartet, with more fi lms and more awards,” says Tee. “We the audience, as will Korean director Kim Yong-hwa, directed by Oliver Fa. The event organizers Jennifer Lopez and want to be able to highlight the most interesting and well-known for being behind the lens on romcom see this as both a gesture of cultural exchange Constance Wu. US, notable Chinese language fi lms and fi lmmakers of 200 Pounds Beauty and the sports comedyMr. Go. and a sign of how the festival itself is evolving. 110 minutes, IIB. the year and to highlight the diversity of the fi lms.” Homegrown fi lms will have a special opportunity “This is a good sign that the local film Now in theater. The spotlight will be turned on several regional to shine at this year’s festival. Five locally-made fi lms industry is stepping up and telling Macao stars under the age of 30, including South Korean will be screened to mark the 20th anniversary of the stories for the local and international audi- actor Im Yoon-ah. “Our ‘Asian Stars Up Next’ are also transfer of Macao sovereignty from Portugal to the ence,” says Tee. “Macao is extremely cinematic superb talents in their own right, and given the right People’s Republic of China. Among them are Ina as a location. The stories of a long history of a opportunities, will be the next global stars,” says Tee. and the Blue Tiger Sauna, by Antonia Fara and global East-West trading and cultural melting Beyond the screenings and competitions, fi lm fans Bernardo Rao, about a 19-year-old Macanese girl pot are coming forth beautifully.” Hustlers