words yvonne teh

Wu Bixia sings the praises of a complex three-century-old story.

As one might expect of a people credited with having invented paper as well as both woodblock and movable type printing, the Chinese have been writing – and reading – for thousands of years. Consequently, for a work to be considered one of the ‘Four Great Classical Novels’ of Chinese literature is quite something; and more so when it manages to remain popular, beloved and pertinent through to the present. Such is the case with a feudal family saga with some 600 characters that dates back to the 18th century and is so complex Mao Zedong once said, “One must read the novel five times before one has a say on it.”

Even if people have not read The Dream of the Red Mansions (aka Dream of the Red Chamber, and The Story of the Stone) even once, chances are they will be familiar with at least one of the many film adaptations of this literary masterpiece, attributed to Cao Xueqin, whose central star-crossed lovers evoke comparisons with the Western world’s Romeo and Juliet. Or they will know the highly popular TV series based on the book and whose music will reverberate throughout the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall on Saturday, March 29, courtesy of a concert by the HK Chinese Orchestra.

In an interview, the concert’s guest artist, Hunan-born vocalist Wu Bixia, tells bc, “I love the songs [from that TV series] very much.” Wu, who is internationally famous for being adept in both traditional Chinese and Western classical musical styles, was only 12 when the TV series was first broadcast, but shares that, “I could recite all of [the show’s songs] including the duets and solos of male and female singers. I remember, at that time, I was responsible for teaching my schoolmates to sing at the cultural group at the secondary school. Those songs became our ‘must sings’.”

“To date,” Wu additionally reveals, “I have already performed more than 10 performances of The Dream of The Red Mansions.” But, as far as she is concerned, familiarity has bred greater appreciation rather than any contempt and, many years after she was introduced to them, she still considers the lyrics of the pieces she will be singing at the concert – like Song of Qingwen, Grief in Vain, A Stormy Night by the Autumn Window, and Song of Burying Flowers – to be very beautiful.

“On the stage, I try to put myself in the shoes of the characters” she says. “It’s not just singing but pouring out my own heart and soul. Sometimes, I think I’m one of the characters, and sometimes Cao Xueqin, but most of the time, Wu Bixia. The novel is writing about me as well!”

In addition to identifying with so much of The Dream of the Red Mansions, the singer the Russian media dubbed “the vocal angel from the Eastern world” and the Spanish “the voice from the heavens” is also spurred by audience reactions when she performs the songs live. “Every time I sing them in a concert hall, the eye contacts and change of breath with the audience will scratch new sparks and give me new inspirations,” she says.

The HK Chinese Orchestra’s The Dream of the Red Mansions concert will take place on Saturday, March 29, at the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. The performance is scheduled to begin at 8pm. Tickets are $300 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.