The Real Deal

About a block down the road from our apartment is the historic Sunbeam Theatre  (website) which shows Cantonese Opera. 

 

We have lived this close to it for about 2 1/2 years and had never attended the theatre!  During various Chinese Festivals we have seen little bits of Cantonese Opera, but never a full-fledged show.  With us living this close to an iconic theatre, we decided we must go and see the real deal! 

It didn’t take us long to realize we are not the target audience for these shows.  I think we saw one other non-Chinese person and maybe a handful of non-senior citizens (and most of those seemed to be there to assist their parent/grandparent). 

 

We thrive on participating in the authentic with the locals. It was awesome!

Cantonese Opera gets a bad wrap because the singing can be high pitched and shrilly.  You can see a video here.  I think it’s probably safe to say both our dad’s can’t stand it. Cody’s dad likes to describe the singing as sounding like “skinning a cat.” And he’s probably not far off.

Viewing an entire live opera performance gave me a new appreciation for the art though. Going into the performance, we had plans to leave during intermission. We figured that would give us plenty of culture for one evening.  The opera was three hours long after all.

As the curtains opened, the stage was set with beautiful splendor.  The entire thing was in Cantonese, of course.  Though I didn’t understand the details, the imagery was a extraordinary.  And the singing—well, it honestly grew on me and I truly enjoyed it. 

I wish so badly I had video from the performance, but it was strictly prohibited.  So was flash photography.  I did what any decent patron would do and tried to sneak a few pics with my iPhone.  Cody encouraged it with a warning to not get us kicked out.  The pictures didn’t turn out so well, but I’ll add a few on here anyway.   

Each of the seven acts had sets with great detail, complete with animated clouds, water, or snow in the background. I described it to Cody as looking like Chinese paintings brought to life.  That alone was worth the admission price.  The sets were gorgeous. 

This scene received a lot of applause as the performers rode along the stage on moving boats.  Sorry it’s such a terrible picture; you’re just going to have to trust me that it was really cool.

The costuming and make-up were also magnificently elaborate.  Each new scene also meant a costume change, and each new costume complemented the scenery.  I really can’t explain how stunning and picturesque everything was.

Though we couldn’t fully understand the story, had no idea what the actors were saying/singing, and more than one of the acts dragged on as a song went on and on (I almost fell asleep—and Cody did), we still couldn’t seem to pull ourselves away.

The artistry was much too alluring.  Everything from the live orchestra to the way a character walked or moved their hands was deliberate and artistic.  Truly a feast for the eyes… and ears.

For the first couple acts, we thought the main performer was a woman, playing a woman.  Then after studying the costuming a little more, we realized the performer was indeed a woman, but playing a man.  The picture below is of the two leads: both women.  Interestingly, the male part sang in a low voice and the woman part sang in the high, shrilly, “cat skinning” voice.  The woman character didn’t sing nearly as much as the male character (probably partly because she’d ruin her vocal cords if she did).  And honestly, I enjoyed both, though the lower-voiced male character was indeed a bit more pleasant.  I think the woman and her voice was Cody’s favorite though.  I really couldn’t get over how much talent it must take to sing that way, with every note and tone executed with absolute exactness, along with their body gestures and movements.

At the end of the performance—before the curtain call—a large portion of the audience rushed to the front of the stage.  I guess they knew they could get good pictures of the cast from there.

Attending a full production of a Cantonese Opera was certainly worthwhile, but I don’t think we’ll be rushing out to purchase season tickets.  Still, I would say if you have the chance, you should definitely see it! 

When we arrived home, we had one last, final treat for the evening.  The babysitter was explaining how the evening went.  Then she told me Ridge was in Jade’s bed.  She said, “Jadyn is the boss of me and she told me she wanted Ridge to sleep in her bed.”  I was surprised they would even go to sleep that way!  The babysitter told me they fell asleep as she read them stories.  After she left, Cody and I had to rush in to see the little cuties.