Our First Experience With Chinese Opera!

Sister Lin is an ordinance worker at the temple, but she is also an opera singer.  She and her husband both perform operas occasionally, but only for charity.
Shet San Lin generously offered to take us to the opera at
Ko Shan Theatre in Hong Hum,
and since we have never experienced a Chinese Opera, we gratefully accepted.

When we arrived at the theatre, this is the opera crowd we saw.   It was obvious that we were most likely the youngest in the crowd. I also realized I had overdressed.  Actually, when Sister Lin had told me days before that it wasn't necessary to dress up, I thought she only said that because she didn't expect us, as missionaries to have something extra nice to wear to an event like this.

  I guessed that one wrong.  It looks like the opera in Hong Kong isn't exactly like the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

A couple of photos just before the doors opened.

Brother and Sister Lin with two of their friends.

Operas are preformed almost every night, with a different one each night. 

 This night it was to be Romance of the Phoenix Tower.  

We chuckled when a staff member brought us a paper with a summary of the story in English

 without us even asking, because apparently, we stuck out like sore thumbs as the only couple in the place who didn't speak Chinese. 

This is actually, a humorous story which takes place during the Song Dynasty.  Princess Honglian falls in love with Yelu Junxiong, the son of a great general.  They are betrothed, but because of an ambush by robbers, the princess is injured, loses her memory, and is separated from the man she loves for years.  The gist of the story is that after some comic capers, and almost four hours later, 

they find each other again, and live happily ever after.

YES!  This opera lasted almost four hours, not the two we were expecting. 

Little did we know that is not unusual for Chinese Opera.

Princess Honglian

Yelu Junxiong

Before the performance Sister Lin took us backstage to get a photo of the lead actor and actress.

The headdress worn by the actor playing the part of Yelu Junxiong was quite unique.  It had peacock feathers, and the longest pheasant feathers we have ever seen, which I have since learned came from that of a Chinese pheasant - not exactly what can be found in America.

The cast at the final curtain.  My favorite was the man on the far right, playing the part of Ni Sian.

 He made us laugh the most.

All in all, we found this opera to be entertaining in spite of the fact, we couldn't understand most of the words they were saying or singing. 

 But, since we laughed anytime the audience did, no one knew that, right?

Thank you, Sister Lin. 

We can now cross that one off our bucket list.