MOONLIGHT AND OPERA
An impressive moon tonight, biggest and brightest (because it's closest) --and the first full moon -- of Gregorian Year 2010. It's called the Wolf moon, and is chasing away the Year of the Ox, plodding through its last days, until February 14 when the White Metal Tiger appears.  I wonder what happens when the Wolf and the Tiger meet.  I suppose I'm mixing cultural folklore here. Next year we'll see about that!

Seems like an auspicious moment for the first opera of the season, tonight's Marriage of Figaro (Mozart).  Will be a change from kung fu/wuxia dramas. But another opportunity presents itself:  Beijing Opera at the Unversity of Hawaii (UH)! Next week, White Snake debuts.

Not Mozart

From UH's website: "This well known Jingju (Beijing "opera") in its English language world premiere enacts the famous legend of the snake spirit who descends to earth as a beautiful woman. Guest Artists from China have been in residence since August training the UH student performers."   I certainly enjoyed Vincent Zhao in Tsui Hark's Green Snake (which is related in plot**), so I must make a point to not miss this, even without my favorite taijiquan inspiration. (Though, Green Snake was really Maggie Cheung's movie; Vincent played a very weird character, a megalomaniacal monk.) Our qigong group may go see White Snake as an extracurricular activity.  Lots of good qi moves in Peking opera!

I was privileged to have seen "Peking" opera in "Beijing" some years ago.  My host offered a running commentary through the endless and convoluted plot involving emperors and concubines and generals and corrupt officials, all while the audience was chatting among themselves, cracking melon seeds and spitting them on the floor, and wandering around the theatre.

At one point, as a female character performed a lengthy aria (if that's what they're called), my companion was silent. Finally I said, "So what's going on now?"

"She is singing much, but saying little," my host said.  Which led me to think opera -- the ultimate in multi-media--is the same world-wide.  A wolf moon, an ox year... opera season everywhere!


**The White Snake (Bai She Zhuan) relates the famous legend of a snake spirit who descends to earth as a beautiful woman, marries a handsome young man, and then must fight to restore his life and save their marriage in the face of supernatural attacks from a powerful monk who believes that she is an evil demon.