“Let’s back up 10 measures and try it again.” “And then I need another gesture from you,” Lai told the singer, Karen Chia-ling Ho, who plays Princess Jia. “They have to sing the line first,” Sheng said. “You all have to know where you are going.” “A lot is going on here,” said director Stan Lai, who was concerned about audience sight lines. I wish I had a bass.”Īt a rehearsal the next day, the musical, dramatic and cultural complexities of “Red Chamber” converged during a scene that involved the bows of some court ladies-in-waiting. Not having more “male and female contrast,” said Sheng, “was a challenge. I don’t mind being corny about that.”Ī certain Bartok-like flintiness in the score, meanwhile, helped balance the opera’s predominantly female voices. While the Sheng-Hwang opera has both mythical and metaphysical elements, as well as dynastic family politics and intrigue, the heart of the matter is what the composer calls “a tender, touching and transparent love story, ideally tear-jerking. So did the “emotional foreshadowing” and “long phrases” of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The libretto’s prologue, which tells the framing Stone and Flower tale, summoned a trio in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” to mind. The “simplicity” of Verdi’s storytelling in “Otello” struck a chord. When it came to finding a musically and dramatically effective way to realize the piece, Sheng sought inspiration in various sources. I wished I could have had that life.” Subsequent readings deepened his appreciation. The book’s Qing Dynasty hero, Bao Yu, “is surrounded by beautiful women.
He recalled first reading “Red Chamber” when he reached puberty. Sheng, whose charm and power of persuasion are apparent on first meeting, bubbled happily about the novel, his musical touchstones and the globe-spanning Asian cast over a recent rehearsal-break lunch of grilled sea bass and vegetables.
0 kommentar(er)
