Review - Angel's Bone (Du Yun), 2018 New Vision Arts Festival, 11 November 2018

Mrs X.E. - Abigail Fischer
Mr X.E. - Kyle Pfortmiller
Boy Angel - Kyle Bielfield
Girl Angel - Rosie K
Vocal ensemble - Rachel Kwok, Law Tsz-ying, Dominique Chan, Eleanor Chu, Keith Pun, Guddy Chan, Irwin Chan, Caleb Woo, Carlos Li

Hong Kong New Music Ensemble
Daniela Candillari (conductor)
Michael Joseph McQuiken (director)

The spectacular stage effects, which employed in this Asian premiere of Angel's Bone, were most impressive and a much desirable upgrade from the first performance at New York City in 2016. it gave the staging a chic outlook by using multimedia effectively. The use of revolving stage, simple furniture sets, sophisticated light designs, artistic projections and fluid choreography allowed a seamless and flowing performance. Proportionally it also made a spacious visual impression even the stage size is not particularly big.

The flexibility and progressiveness that this production successfully delivered serve as a good example for local opera companies to learn from than the clumsy unimaginative dramaturgy that has been prevailing. It has also demonstrated that chamber opera production, whether contemporary, classical or baroque, allows the repertoire list to expand and more mobile to be catered at smaller theatres.

Despite no printed programme was given except an online one, the story seems relatively straightforward to follow. Two shaken angels were taken into a religious driven household but terrified by the threatening Mr X.E.. The discontented Mrs X.E. desired to be socially glamorous than being an obedient housewife. She gradually seek comfort and satisfaction from the boy angel, yet the close affection got her pregnant. The girl angel was tormented by encounters with strangers and with the boy angel both emotionally broken. They were eventually thrown out by a raged and disgusted Mr X.E. at the discovery of his wife's infidelity. Mrs X.E. continued to struggle and begged for forgiveness to no avail.

Alike Elektra, it was a progression of mad house scenario. The domino effects of psychological break down and desperation culminated to a gripping and intensive end. Yet sentimentally I did not find the protagonists deserve the emotional pity. The narration was heavily bombarded by the emphasis on broken minds and driving to madness as with Mr X.E.. There were emotional corners when Mrs X.E. pleaded for redemption but lacked a convincing reason.

I also only realised the angels association to human trafficking and their abuse after reading the programme. At first the chanting, mention of annunciation and virginal conception in relation to Mrs X.E. and the boy angel were more apparent of a surreal psychological crisis. The use of amplification is debatable and it could have been less heavy to allow dynamic contrast and accommodate tenderness.

Under the direction of Dnaiela Candillari, the musical performance was dramatically rendered and sailed through some tricky music corners effectively. It was a great opportunity for local sourced musicians to showcase their talents along an international casted lead singers within a progressive stage experience. More is certainly welcomed in the future.

Review - Matsukaze (Toshio Hosokawa & Sasha Waltz), New Vision Arts Festival, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, 23 October 2016

Matsukaze - Miwako Handa
Murasame - Jihee Kim
Monk - Douglas Williams
Fisherman - Kai-Uwe Fahnert

Vocalconsort Berlin
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Hong Kong New Music Orchestra
David Robert Coleman (Conductor)
Sasha Waltz (Director and Choreographer)

One highlight of Human Requiem back in March was the spellbinding choreography by Sasha Waltz & Guest, which effectively revealed the inner truth of Brahms's Requiem I reckon. Audience and performers went on an emotional theatrical journey from death to afterlife, before arriving an imaginative glimpse of the eternal dwelling. The city is fortunate again to receive another highly regarded contemporary opera production by the same company. A testament of quality and intellectual stimulating staging that allows creativity, inspiration and beauty at its fullness at the theatre. In contrast to the ideology underlines in Human Requiem, Matsukaze follows the concept of Noh plays by contemplating memories and emotions between life and death. The yearning for passionate feelings will eventually fade and vanish, than reaching any spiritual comfort or redemption. Though the pain and the impression of being trapped within space is to be remembered and retold as a tale in romanticism.

In this production, the dance aspect is as equally important as the music. It is a physical expression of abstract emotions and also marking atmospheric characteristics. The sound of waves and theatrical fog set the first scene at the coast in the night. Dancers' arm movements resemble the pressing weight of the tempestuous sea on the shore. The silent lone girl in black surrounds by a dancer doing tai chi, which gives a visual demonstration of inner psychological yearning. The eerie music style creates a sense of uncertainty at a haunted space, especially the bass drum rolling increasingly hard and loud. The dance choreography is increasingly more exaggerated by bigger arm gestures. Atmospherically unsettle and disturbing up to the monk's chanting that provided the background. Various dancers in pairs or groups move across the stage were not an imitation of ghost, but flashback in memory lane without a time sense. The vocal ensemble in circular shape symbolically form a speaking old pine by singing 'ar', and gradually change into a human wall to resemble the tree branches. A woman in white then very slowly pulls a giant web across the stage forward for the next scene.

Metaphorically the web is a memory cage, which the sisters trap themselves into by lamenting past affections for the nobleman. He dies after leaving them for the capital, which the plainsong dialogue between the fisherman and the monk provides the background. Though the net is also emerged as fishing nets when masked dancers pull long ropes alike out from the sea with the chorus emerges from behind. Nothing out of ordinary and symbolism of objects are created from elements in the related nature. Glockenspiel playing evokes small bells ringing along with the sound of water drops, while darkness descends as the stage lights fade. The music become more spooky and chilly when ghostly figures of the sisters descend. Dancers climb around the screen but stuck within an area like insects trap in a spider web. The chant like music texture and atonal in style make a cold and emotionless impression with a moonlight effect illuminates in the background. Eventually the sisters vanish again in the dark, and dancers move like in the shape of frogs on the screen. It creates a pictorial sequence of nature awaking for dawn.

The fantasy seamlessly turn into a more realistic state under this extraordinary sequence of nature and time. The framed wooden structure of a house replace the screen with a soft wooden house floor. Though dimmed light remain to keep the haunting sense of the place. The monk is supposedly to question the sisters in the house but sings from the orchestra pit instead. This provokes the question of whether any is real or just a dream, even a physical space is in place. The music develops more contrasting dynamics, wider vocal range and more emotions engage. Drums and gongs produce violent musical effect to imitate wild gust and stormy seaside. The spinto soprano gives many wild cries at the high vocal range and dancers in open arms posture to plead.

All add to the weighting message that Matsukaze cannot fling off her persistent desire for the return of her lover, despite her sister Murasame warns of the danger that she will fall into false imagination. A masked dancer carried a pole with a hat on it then forms the illusion, follows by a passionate dance duet to capture the intense love and feelings. Dancers also regroup into the shape of branches and more colourful than before. The exuberance of expressive emotional outpour inevitably come to an abrupt end when a shower of needles from the pine tree drop onto the stage. The monk awakes from the surreal state of mind while chimes' ringing return. In the end, water drops replace the music gradually and conclude with a lone girl walks very slowly towards the audience before vanishing in the dark.

Graphical surrealism is undoubtedly the highlight of this production, and elevates by a highly effective dramaturgy to present symbolic or metaphoric aspects at a natural sequence. The dance choreography gives a visual demonstration of the psychology and feelings with an expressive outlook. Music on the other hand delivers the dramatic audio effect in conjunction to the visualisation of senses and theatrical atmosphere. The four soloists are vocally capable with the right timbre and range, though diction is more audible on vowels than articulating the words clearly. Orchestral playing phrases well under the baton of David Coleman and never in the danger being out of shape. All contribute to a coherent and awe-inspiring staging that memorable in many ways. It is a shame though a poor turnout in the audience despite a vigorous marketing campaign in public beforehand. Conservatism, the lack of cultural curiosity and backwardness in artistic knowledge still prevailed unfortunately.