Let your tears flow – audiences promised a moving experience as Cantonese musical gets the full treatment
Staging of show with music by the 50-strong Hong Kong Sinfonietta and a Universal Music Limited recording adds a new dimension to the genre
A Cantonese musical is being performed with a full orchestra and recorded commercially for the first time – an event its producers say will bolster the unique genre.
The Passage Beyond in Concert, a crossover musical premiered in 2014 by the Actors’ Family and 50-strong Hong Kong Sinfonietta, returns to the stage after a touch-up to refine the storyline and musical scores.
The show, which begins on Thursday at Tsuen Wan Town Hall, is preceded by five days of intensive recording by Universal Music Limited, a first for the international label.
“This is truly a unique experience beyond even Broadway musicals, which may not support a full orchestra on the scale of the Sinfonietta,” said composer Leon Ko, who has worked on Broadway in New York.
“It means a lot to the development of musicals sung in Cantonese, a dialect that is very effective in storytelling due to its versatility.”
Ko’s partner, lyricist Chris Shum, attributed its success to the language’s distinctive nine-tone system, which was more finessed and musical than the four-tone Putonghua.
“Each Cantonese word requires very specific tone, and that makes the utterance very musical,” said Shum, who was written several books about song lyrics.
Ko and Shum were the original writers of the play set for five musical instruments when it was premiered for a small audience in 2009. It was extended to 12 instruments by Anna Lo, who conducted it in Guangzhou in 2013, and, a year later, set it to full orchestra for the Sinfonietta under the baton of Yip Wing-sie.
“I count myself very lucky to be involved in this production, which gets to be put into a recording for more people to access to a genre that deserves a wide audience,” Lo said.
“Leon’s music lends itself to multiple musical lines and it’s very natural for me to arrange it to a full orchestra. That surely shows we in Hong Kong can do a Cantonese musical at its best.”
I advise audiences to bring with them tissue paper for their tears
Yip, a veteran recording conductor at Tsuen Wan Hall, said the recording session before the show would bring about “a deeper performance” from her players.
“Five days of recording at the hall will get our musicians more familiar with the scores and closer to the solo singers, who don’t turn their back to the players like in a concert,” she said.
“But at the end of the day it is the refined lyrics set to very powerful music which tell a story so moving that I advise audiences to bring with them tissue paper for their tears.”
Ko believed the story about love and human compassion carried a universal appeal to all audiences.
“Men and things may change over time, but a story about love and humanity will be valid in all circumstances, and that I hope is what makes my work connect,” he said.
