The Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress
Sunday, September 24, 2006
So playing continues.Fri aft, boo marcus mark and i went to bowl. as usual, mark is sooo tyco. haha. then we went to boo's house to watch little man. its freaking funny. lol.
then boo and i went back to sch to attend this mid autumn festival organised by the chi department..it was a very enjoyable one. there was a singing contest, participated by mostly sec 3s, n i must say the standard is so much higher than BPian idol. then there's this performance by a chi opera troupe...they are damn good, damn pro...their moves and everyth really impressed me...it took my breath away. haha. but the funny thing was, when everyth was so china, the person spoke in english. lol. 'this are the luohans.' imagine our reaction. lol.
there's also a part which featured ex Bpians...guo hui wen, the mediacorp artiste went. she is so so so so so so so chio. boo and i took a photo with her. haha. then this ex-Bpian, who is a deejay in Li Di Fu Sheng, a very old radio station in Spore, sang...there was some technical error, n he was sporting enuff to qing chang...cool.
Aft the performance, boo, anita, grace and i, walked around the sch with a lantern...it wasn't at all eerie, and we had a great time scaring the girls.
the main focus for me, was that i won the first teng mi in my life. the prize was a lantern....a bit anti climax, but i will definitely use the ans to the teng mi in my o lvl zuo wen..haha. the cheng yu is shuang guan qi xia...muahaha. may it bring me luck.
ytd, met marcus at orchard...we were supposed to meet at 12, but his eye checkup ended early, so i had to walk all the way frm paragon to Shaw House, and then back there again. lol...but for him, can la. haha. then we went to Heeren and Takashimaya to walk, and had lunch at Wisma. Ate teppan yaki. talked abt food...how to cook, how is it like being a chef..intersting. 2 guys wearing long sleeve shirt, talking abt such stuff. haha. then we headed down to City Hall to meet jor, yz and boo.
so we entered the esplanade to watch the Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress. its a masterpiece. no more descriptions needed. the cast sang and acted well, esp the lady who acted as the old empress CiXi. she was quite old, yet her voice was strong and she could express her feelings very well. Kit Chan, of course, was fantastic. her voice is damn strong..i wonder how she can last for so long. and of course there were comical parts, by the infamous Hossan Leong. lol.
throughout the play they only made use of one main prop, but it was as if they kept changing it. it was a very intelligent way making use of the confined space, and i must say everyone enjoyed it. the best thing was, the music was played live, and there is a very good blend of chinese and english instruments. the music played was perfect...
all of us enjoyed every part of the musical...its going to embark on a world tour after its performance in Spore, n i think it will definitely receive good comments and tremendous applause from audience around the world.
i guess what the musical's message to its audience is this: people remember others for the atrocities they have done, not for the good deeds. Whether you want to rmb this person for his good deeds or atrocities is entirely up to you, for this is how history is written: people choose what is to be recorded and what is to be forgotten.
going to check on Tong Zhi emperor later...didn't know he died of STDs...
all the while i rmb CiXi for her good deeds. no doubt that the hundred days reforms under GuangXu failed, and the ALlied forces attacked China under her reign, i believed that she was one great leader..hopefully those who have watched this musical will have changed their impression of her. no doubt she was the demanding dragon lady, she was after all a woman...she had her soft spots.
after the musical we went to ate curry, and then headed home..what an enjoyable day..it wld be good if everyday was spent in this manner...haha. but i wld go broke very soon.
k, have to cook for my mum...cya.