On Saturday we went to a performance of Chinese Opera at Shatin town hall. I'd booked seats in the 2nd row so we had a very good view.
The show was Stars of Chinese Opera with a selection of six pairs of performers doing famous scenes. The notes were all in Chinese as were the subtitles displayed on screens to the side of the stage, so we didn't have much idea what was going on, and had to concentrate hard for clues.
Nevertheless I enjoyed it much more than I expected. The sets, costumes and make-up were lavish, the music was quite accessible and the acting was very expressive.
The singing was accompanied live by a small traditional orchestra to the side of the stage.
It was a very long show but people seemed to drift in and out. So we skipped one of the acts and refueled with coffee and cake in the theatre cafe. Afterwards the last act the audience was able to take photos of the performers. From the applause they seemed to be super-stars.
On the way out we met one of the organizers who was very friendly and asked whether we'd enjoyed the show. I'd be keen to go again, although (as with western opera) I'll try to read-up on the plot in advance.
After the show we went for dinner at 'La Terrazza' restaurant, on top of the Shatin civic center. We sat outside with a nice view of the river-side park.
We could enjoy the CNY lights. Once it became dark and the lights came up, even the tower-blocks began to magical.
On the way home we had a stroll among the illuminations in the park.
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