Bring Your Own Stool to the Opera

By Lim Soo Ping

Contents

At the opera: Street hawkers and game stalls Cantonese opera in Singapore History of Chinese operas in Singapore Photographic book on Chinese opera in Singapore

We had to bring our own stools to the opera. We were not entitled to seats. That was in the 1950s and 60s, the heyday of Chinese opera in Singapore.

I grew up in a wooden zinc-roofed house at Lincoln Road, off Thomson Road. Far down the road was a Hainanese temple. Every year, during the Lunar Seventh Month, there would be Hainanese opera performed on a timber stage facing the temple.

The performances were held in the evenings. On weekends, there would also be matinees.

Wall painting of a Chinese opera in Chinatown, Singapore. (Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash)

Temple patrons and benefactors had reserved seats. Poorer folks had to “chope” (reserve) places with their own stools or chairs.

At the opera: Street hawkers and game stalls

During the festival period, street hawkers would set up stalls along Lincoln Road all the way to the temple entrance. The stalls were illuminated using kerosene lamps. The smaller stalls had “bauxite” lamps with flames darting out of a long neck and emitting a foul smell.

All manner of goodies were sold, e.g. cut fruits, biscuits and sweets, steamed corn-on-the-cob, fried fishballs, roasted chestnuts and the ever popular oyster omelette (“orh luark”), which was fried on the spot for you.

The most memorable stalls were the tikam tikam stalls where one would place bets for prizes such as toy cars, porcelain animal figurines and mechanical toys, e.g. a dancing golliwog.

I remember seeing, among the toys, a mechanical monkey playing a cymbal. It was quite like the one in the opening scene of Victor Hugo’s Phantom of the Opera.

Cantonese opera in Singapore

After my family moved out of the house at Lincoln Road, I thought I had seen the last of Chinese opera However, decades later, to my great surprise and delight, I found that two ex-colleagues and a former schoolmate are accomplished Cantonese opera artistes. It was surprising because we were all educated in English language schools. And somehow they were also able to juggle their time between career and family to pursue this traditional art form with passionate commitment.

Tina Wong (黄晓玲) and I were colleagues in different divisions of the then Public Works Department.

In 2017, Tina invited my wife and I to a full-length Cantonese opera in which she was performing.

Written by Leslie Wong and Norman Cheung, the opera The Lady Magistrate Xie Yao Huan was staged by Chinese Theatre Circle Limited (CTC). It is the story of Empress Wu Ze Tian and a fictional female official called Xie Yao Huan. The plot touches on the themes of corruption and women’s role in politics. Tina Wong played the role of Empress Wu Ze Tian.

For members of the audience who did not understand Cantonese, simultaneous Chinese and English subtitles were provided on screen.

The cast of *The Lady Magistrate Xie Yao Huan*, Tina Wong in imperial costume (standing fifth from right).

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I re-lived my childhood moments watching Hainanese operas in open air in the 1960s. But this time, I did not have to bring my own stool! I was comfortably seated in the Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre in Chinatown (牛车水人民剧场).

I also had the privilege of watching Tina performing a Cantonese opera except with her husband at an annual dinner of the company that they founded. The music accompaniment was provided by musicians from Guangzhou.

Lawrence Wong Sou Peng (黄兆平), another accomplished Cantonese opera artiste, was my classmate in primary and secondary school.

I attended one of Lawrence’s stage performances. I also remember vividly his performance at our St Joseph’s Institution class re-union dinner during Christmas of 2010. Accompanying him in the performance was Nancy Ng (利莲茜), who was once my colleague in the public service.

History of Chinese operas in Singapore

Chinese opera was introduced to Singapore by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. The 1881 population census recorded a total of 240 Chinese opera performers in the then colonial Singapore.

For more than a century, Chinese opera was the main form of live entertainment in Singapore. Typically, the operas were performed at religious festivals, such as during the Chinese New Year. The performances were on a makeshift stage with musicians seated at both sides. The performances were often sponsored by Chinese temples and Chinese clan associations, and staged for free public viewing.

At one time, Singapore was regarded as the “second home of Cantonese opera” outside Hong Kong.

Today, Chinese opera continues to be a feature in Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore.

In the early days of Singapore, four Chinese dialects were represented in opera, namely, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew and Hainanese. Cantonese operas were performed mainly in Kreta Ayer, Hokkien operas in the vicinity of Nankin Street and Hokkien Street, Teochew operas around Merchant Road and New Market Road. These are different parts of Chinatown.

Hainanese operas were staged in the Thomson Road/Lincoln Road area, which was called Ang Kio Hau (Red Bridge Head) by the local community.

The doyenne of Chinese opera in Singapore is Joanna Wong Quee Heng. In 1981, with her husband, opera playwright Leslie Wong, Joanna set up Chinese Theatre Circle to promote and preserve the traditional art form. That year, she became the first Chinese opera artiste to be awarded the Singapore Cultural Medallion.

More information on Chinese opera in Singapore can be found in the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery.

Photographic book on Chinese opera in Singapore

2018 saw the launch of a photographic book on Chinese opera in Singapore entitled “Flying Sleeves, the Grandeur of Chinese Opera”. The guest-of-honour at the launch was Dr Lily Neo, the then Member of Parliament for Kreta Ayer; she has been a staunch supporter of Chinese opera in Singapore.

Authored by Dr Chua Ee Kiam, “Flying Sleeves, the Grandeur of Chinese Opera” documents Chinese opera through 400 breath-taking photographic images. The book won a total of six awards and recognitions including the Grand Award in One-of-the- Kind Publications, Apex Awards, USA, 2019. It is also Winner in Best Non-Fiction Title2019, Singapore Book Awards, 2019.