A talented bunch of young female opera singers from HK are attracting widespread, even international, attention, writes Melanie Ho.

Hong Kong soprano Etta Fung experienced a moment of epiphany while singing the role of Keiko in Beauty and Sadness - a new opera by Elena Langer based on Yasunari Kawabata's 1975 novel of the same name. As she sang the part of the jealous protege to an older and established artist at the opera's world premiere in Hong Kong in April, Fung realized to her delight that after months of fine-tuning, her voice sounded like a perfect fit for the role.

"We had workshops and sang through the entire piece and made demos. It was a big work in progress and in the end I had something that was really made for me," Fung says. "I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do something like this because it's a rare opportunity. It's the biggest commitment I've ever made."

The role demanded learning a lot of on-stage movement and choreography, which Fung was more than happy to do. When she moved back to Hong Kong in 2016, after spending 9 years in the US training to be an opera singer, Fung, already a certified yoga teacher, took up aerial silk dancing. She wanted to be more than a regular soprano singer and was looking for ways to stand out from the crowd.

"I discovered I could climb 5 meters into the air on silk ribbons and sing (while I was) upside down," Fung says. Looking for an act that would showcase her skills in both opera singing and aerial silk dancing, Fung put on an aerial opera, Opera Sull'Aria in 2017.

Off the back of such performances came opportunities, including the role of Amour in a Canadian production of Orphee, also performed on aerial silks. Her training in aerial gymnastics came in handy when she was selected to play Keiko, as the role required much physical movement on stage.

Different strokes

Finding ways to create opportunities for oneself is a great idea, says soprano Joyce Wong who has taken part in Opera Hong Kong's young artist program. Wong says Young singers should take every opportunity possible to make their voices heard.

"When opportunities are scarce, create your own - deliver social media content, organize a concert with some friends, do busking," she advises. "Find ways to make yourself known and heard."

When Wong returned to Hong Kong following studies in Boston and at Westminster Choir College, she too found it a challenge to get her foot in the door.

"Like any career it was tough at first," she says. "In my first year back home I didn't sing at all. I knocked on doors and took any and every opportunity that came my way. I kept my head down and worked hard." Eventually, people noticed that Wong was as good as she had promised. There's been a steady flow of work since then.

Wong also sang in Beauty and Sadness. This weekend she plays the role of Zerlina in Opera Hong Kong's production of Don Giovanni before moving on to take the role of Musetta in La Boheme at the Teatro Petruzelli in Bari, Italy.

Don Giovanni will also feature Louise Kwong, a Hong Kong soprano - now in her second season as part of Opera di Roma's young artist program. While in Rome, Kwong has sung the roles of Micaela in Carmen, Mimi in La Boheme and earlier this year Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, which she'll also sing in Hong Kong this weekend.

"The program in Italy is a very good one," Kwong says. "I've been exposed to opportunities to study and work with top musicians on a daily basis. The opportunities given to me by the Opera di Roma are very precious to me, being a singer from Asia."

Tweaking tradition

"Mezzos are a little bit different than sopranos. We don't get to be the prima donna all the time," says Hong Kong mezzo-soprano Carol Lin. Singing the title role in Musica Viva's production of Carmen has been the highlight of her career so far. Lin says she's happy both under the spotlight, performing, as well as working in the background, conceptualizing and putting a concert together.

In March she sang in two concerts with Musica Viva - one celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of Clara Schumann and another featuring songs from Broadway classic productions. In June Lin will appear in a solo concert featuring more of classical art songs rather than opera arias and some monologues.

"I wanted to create something and include more theatrical elements into a recital," Lin says. "I like to try different things - different art forms, different kinds of music."

Lin is happy to note that there is support for such experimentation with traditional opera forms in Hong Kong. There is no dearth of opportunities for performer-show directors like her, she says. The expanding scope for producing new work in opera allows her to create opportunities for fellow professionals as well as herself.

Step forward, women

The sheer number of women involved in the Hong Kong show of Beauty and Sadness marks a welcome departure from the traditionally male-dominated opera scenario. Says Wong: "Working with the director Carolyn Choa and her creative team doesn't feel like work at all. This opera also has more female roles than male roles, and I hope more operas are centered around strong women, both on stage and off."

Fung says the future for young opera singers may in fact lie in Asia. "The truth is the resources are in Asia right now. When I came back to Hong Kong, I had to start all over again, but I've found re-locating was a blessing in disguise."

She is excited that more opera producers are looking for material in literature from Asia. Many among those creating new work in the Hong Kong opera scene today come from a similar background as her. They are "Western-trained, part Chinese or brought up here and it's a wonderful mixture of everything that can then be taken anywhere internationally," says Fung.

"I feel really lucky to be doing things that many people don't get to do," she says, adding that in terms of its openness to new ideas and support ing artistic endeavors, Hong Kong indeed is a special place.

Etta Fung combined aerial silk dancing with opera singing in a Canadian production of Gluck’s Orphee. Photos provided to China Daily

(HK Edition 05/17/2019 page10)