Last night was our choir's annual concert and I had the opportunity to singing a big soprano solo part for the famous Chinese Opera Madame Butterfly. It is a beautiful love story about a girl, Zhu Ying Tai (Zhu), dressed up as a guy fell in love with her classmate Liang Shan Bo (Liang) but was forced to marry into the Ma's family by arranged marriage. Desperately, Zhu didn't know what to do to resolve this and like Romeo and Juliet, they showed their love for each other by sacrificing their lives! The beauty of this story is, it doesn't end here. After their death, they turn into beautiful butterflies flying beside each other, continuing their love in their next life.
This solo part was by no means easy. I started practising it in July (before the wedding) and at that point, I couldn't even finish singing it once through without huffing and puffing! The range was also very big for a soprano. It starts at a middle C (extremely hard to sound good in) and goes up all the way to a high high C, which I can barely reach! The most rewarding part of all this was seeing myself improve over the last few months. I went from huffing and puffing to now, feeling the music flow through Zhu's different stages in her life and being able to express her emotions through my singing - it is a really unique experience. I almost felt what she felt!
Not only am I happy about the improvement I had, of course, also thankful for my encouraging friends! They have been so supportive along the way and at times, it even makes me speechless.
Thanks to:
Stuart and Yolanda - Stuart even joined Alata after our concert in March to show his support!
Eleanor - Sorry couldn't catch you for a quick photo...next time!
Lesley & mom - Always a great friend and supporter!
Adrian - Taking time out of your busy schedule (and from Justin..hehe)
Winnie & Angus - Trading concert with Judy!
JKL & Danny - Coming even you guys just came back from vacation!!!
Lai Lai - Thank you for being so proud of me!
Yusuf - Thanks for enduring all my practising at home!
Here are a few pictures and video of my singing:
Madame Butterfly Part 1 (the main theme)
Madame Butterfly Part 2 (Lady Zhu's traumatic expressions)
Madame Butterfly Part 3 (Lady Zhu's expressive monologue)
Madame Butterfly Part 4 (Lady Zhu's expressive monologue cont'd)
Madame Butterfly Part 5 (the ending)
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