|
THIS is Chinese opera like you've never seen it before. It is sung in English, the lead roles are played by a Canadian and two Indian drama students, and there's music by The Beatles and The Pussycat Dolls.
Called The West Wing, the production by National University of Singapore students and the Chinese Opera Institute here starts its five-day run on Thursday at the University Cultural Centre.
The 700-year-old opera follows the story of student Zhang Jong who, enroute to his imperial examination, stops at a temple and is enraptured by the beauty of a maiden named Oriole. He stays to save the temple from being attacked by rebels and ends up marrying her before continuing to the exams.
Asked if mixing pop music with traditional Chinese opera sounds radical, NUS associate professor Grant Shen, 56, says no.
The Shanghai-born lecturer, who specialises in Asian theatre, says: 'Traditional Chinese opera has always used contemporary music of its time. It was a popular form of theatre for the masses, like Shakespeare's plays during the Renaissance period.'
Besides following the ancient precedent of using contemporaneous songs, he aims to prove that Chinese opera and Asian theatre can be commercially-viable and attractive to younger people.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times' Life!
| 
