What would you do if you were visited by a “ghost” from ancient times who asked you to help her find her murderer in Vancouver’s Chinatown?
This is the story in Tale of Eastside Lantern, a musical that aims to combine elements from Western rock music with Chinese opera. It will be presented by a local band called Son of James on the stage of a CBC studio.
Shon Wong, founder of the band, told the Richmond News he has carried the passion for Chinese opera from his grandfather, who was a professional performer of this traditional form of music in China before moving to Richmond.
“When I was young, my mom would play Chinese opera music and videos. It was always around me. I grew up listening to the music here but I’ve always been in love with Chinese opera,” said Wong.
“But I’ve found Chinese opera is too out of date for people of my generation. So I think this will be a cool idea to show what Chinese opera is without having people watching traditional Chinese opera.”
To learn more about opera, Wong joined the Vancouver Cantonese Opera company to do a couple of shows, to see how they do the make-up, the process, the story and the staging.
Then he wrote his own show about a Chinatown man and a “ghost,” which was endorsed by the company and his band members.
“The ‘ghost’ is a Chinese opera actress. Anything she does, she will introduce in opera form, and sings and speaks in Chinese. The western character, however, will sing and talk in English. They don’t understand each other, and that’s part of the story,” he said.
“The man goes to Chinatown to find the murderer, and at the same time, we want to teach people about the history of Chinatown as well as telling the story,” added Wong, whose dad, James, grew up in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
The live music is played by the eight members of the band in a mix of Chinese and western styles, with Chinese traditional instrument erhu and guzheng, as well as rock band instruments, such as guitar, bass and drums.
“People love it, because it’s different; it’s relevant, especially in this city where we have a lot of people like me, who are Chinese Canadians; in the middle of the two cultures,” said Wong.
“As much as I love western culture, I love my Chinese culture too. There’s got to be a way to bring them together.
“I identify myself as a Chinese, because I am, and our history is very, very rich. I don’t think there are a lot of people in the city who understand how great our culture is. Many people are trying to be ‘white’ and forget who they are.”
Wong said it’s time to show people “when you put these two cultures together in an artistic way, it creates something very, very beautiful.
“I hope people will have a chance to see there is more to Chinese people than just bad driving,” Wong laughed.
Son of James will present Tale of the Eastside Lantern in CBC studio 700 at 7 p.m. on July 28. For more information, check EastsideLantern.Eventbrite.ca.
