Ghost Village — A New Opera Workshop

The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong
168 Victoria Road, Mount Davis
Hong Kong

We invite you for a peek inside the creative process of Ghost Village, a new opera inspired by a tragic tale from Pu Songling’s seventeenth-century masterpiece Liaozhai’s Strange Tales (聊齋誌異), with music by award-winning composer Yao Chen (姚晨) and an English language libretto by Chinese literature scholar Judith Zeitlin.

Ghost Village builds on the long operatic tradition centered on love that crosses the boundaries of life and death, exemplified by such foundational early works as Tang Xianzu’s Peony Pavilion (1598) and Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). Though composed in a European musical idiom, Ghost Village evokes Chinese aesthetic and theatrical sensibilities and draws inspiration from the rich Chinese tradition of spirit marriage and female ghosts. Set during the early Qing dynasty, this opera still speaks to many pressing issues in today’s world, particularly war, the international refugee crisis, and the general suffering of innocent individuals during historical upheaval.

Renowned music director and pianist Wei-en Hsu (徐惟恩) will lead three stellar singers (soprano Etta Fung 馮曉楓, tenor Li Cho Shun Jason 李祖舜, and baritone Isaac Droscha) in the first-ever performance reading and recording of the climactic finale of Act 2, set in the underworld. The workshop will screen a previous recording of “Ghost Wedding” (the excerpt that opens the act), and will also feature a panel discussion with Yao and Zeitlin on their work in progress, moderated by opera scholar Giorgio Biancorosso.

Composer
Yao Chen, Central Conservatory of Music

Librettist
Judith Zeitlin, The University of Chicago

Music Director
Hsu Wei-en, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Moderator
Giorgio Biancorosso, The University of Hong Kong

Performers
Etta Fung, Soprano
Li Cho Shun Jason, Tenor
Isaac Droscha, Baritone

Program
2:45 pm                         Registration
3:00 pm                         Workshop starts
3:00 – 4:30 pm             Introduction, performance, and discussion
4-30 – 5:30 pm             Reception
5:30 pm                         Reception ends

THIS EVENT IS BY INVITATION ONLY