Reviewed by Frank McKone
January 15
Credits
Creative Concept and Composition – Monica Lim and Mindy Meng Wang
Dramaturg – Ophelia Huang; Animation – Rel Pham
Set and Lighting Design – Jenny Hector; Choreography – Carol Brown
Costume – Leonas Panjaitan; Sound and Video System Design – Nick Roux
Guzheng – Mindy Meng Wang; Electronics – Monica Lim
Vocals – Yu-Tien Lin; Percussion – Alexander Meagher
Cello – Nils Hobiger
Production Manager – Justin Heaton
Producer – Penelope Leishman & Seb Calabretto, Insite Arts
Sound Engineer – Sascha Budimsk
Hero image photography – Michael Pham
“Inspired by Chinese mourning rituals but speaking to universal truths of grief and remembrance, Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim’s multi-sensory journey surrounds you with sound, movement and light.”
https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/opera-for-the-dead
As the crowd moves into the performance space where there are no seats, and people begin to move around and among elements of the set within which are the musicians, singers and electronic keyboard, they find themselves surrounded by devices quite unknown to traditional Chinese opera.
All around them hang 12-inch loudspeakers, facing upwards, with up to four ‘oranges’ on them, made from light-weight plastic, which are vibrating, even jumping up and down, because the speakers, hanging from above, are wired in to the sound of the percussion.
As I saw it, these represented the constant vibrations of the universe. As the music and singing worked up towards a crescendo approaching the end of the 50 minutes, the oranges bounced more and more until many jumped right out of their concave loudspeaker homes. Then I understood the concept expressed in the music about death.
Though an individual’s death is an end-point for them, the universe doesn’t die – it continues to vibrate with perhaps extra depth of feeling as each person dies.
So, though I have had only fleeting experiences of Chinese opera and have no understanding of the words being sung, in this very modern abstract presentation in visual effects as well as in sound, instrumental and voice, I found a peace of mind in knowing the universe continues on, while experiencing the feelings, often of despair, at the time of a loved one’s death.
As a presentation in a cultural festival this is quite remarkable – an original work invoking an ancient culture in the histories of many Australians of Chinese origin, while passing on to others such as myself and other audience members I spoke to, a more philosophical way of thinking about death.
This Opera for the Dead is for the Living, too.
