Jon Lin CHUA: Lingering Resonances of the Street Opera Gongs for Chinese Orchestra (Taiwan premiere)

Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, Tien-Ku Percussion Group / Chih-Sheng Chen / National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan / Video: Jacob Audio and Video Arts, Jacob Chang / Audio: YUN-XIANG Technology, Lin Jai-Shing 2025.02.11 http://littlegcco.com/

This is a contemporary musical work that offers a modern perspective on the tradition of Hokkien street opera in Singapore. Hokkien street opera, characterized by its accessibility and use of many familiar Hokkien folk songs, gradually gained popularity in Singapore after being introduced in the 1920s. It once enjoyed a golden age in Singapore, with performances drawing huge crowds, and the most popular street performers were the stars of the era. Today, these once-famous artists have faded with time, street opera has lost its audience, and the oldest local troupes have gradually disappeared. Hokkien street opera is no longer part of popular cultural life, mostly appearing only in Chinese folk religious ceremonies. Can we, in modern times, still hear the echoes of the opera’s gongs and drums left behind in the streets of old Singapore?

This piece, commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, premiered on August 18, 2020, at the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Concert Hall, conducted by Guo Yongde and featuring the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra.

(Translation: Anthony Ko, edit: Patty Chan)