广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3
再谈广东潮剧院三团的演员 - 2

For this blog, I would like to share my experience watching the performances by 许碧霞, 许佳婉 and 李少娟.

In my previous blog, I briefly mentioned about my encounter with 碧霞. She played the key female lead role in 碧血丹心, 节义夫妻 and 梦圆锦香亭. She is definitely very versatile and can perform very well in many different roles. No wonder she is the 当家花旦 of 广东潮剧院三团. Her friendly disposition somehow makes her quite popular.

Next, I would like to introduce 许佳婉. I only got to that there is such a talented actress after I watched 薛刚兴唐. 佳婉 played the role as 薛葵. Her ugly painted face had already captured the audience attention. Then, came along her talented performance during the scene where she was about to meet her father 薛刚. One other factor that contributed to her very good performance was her size. She is a small build person. It is definitely convincing to the audience for her to play the role as a teenager.

Lastly, I would like to introduce 李少娟. She appeared as male lead or supporting male lead in many of the performances. In 闹花灯, she played a supporting male lead as 薛猛. In 安禄山犯长安，she played the key male lead as 钟景期. It is a fact that guys are normally assigned to act as key male leads in China Teochew Opera Troupes. She must have put in tremendous efforts to emerge as one of the male leads.

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3
再谈广东潮剧院三团的演员

Time flies. Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3 has returned to Swatow for a week already. Out the 11 performances, I have watched 6 of them. To me, this is definitely a new record. When 广东潮剧院一团 was here in Jul 06 with 林初发 and 黄映伟, I could only find time to watch 3 performances. This round, I told myself that I should squeeze out sufficient time to support 广东潮剧院三团 after I had watched 薛刚闹花灯.

Personally, I feel that it is easier to develop a good relationship with the actors and actresses from both 广东潮剧院一团 and 广东潮剧院三团. My wife and I felt 林初发 and 黄映伟 are very nice and approachable actors. It is not because we knew them in person or through some introduction. We approached them just like strangers talking to another person. However, they reciprocated as if they are our good friends. Regardless of their status (Take for example, 林初发 is the key male lead of 广东潮剧院一团), they are very humble and sincere. My recent encounter with 张楚武, 李勇强 and 许碧霞 confirmed this.

I am going to share the ‘before and after photos’ of 李勇强 and 张楚武. “Before” means the photos of them in civilian without any make up.

I understand from 李勇强 that 广东潮剧院三团 had reached 汕头 at about 5 plus in the morning of 20 Sep 06. 张楚武 called me on 21 Sep 06 and shared that 广东潮剧院三团 was busy preparing for their performances in 汕头,China. Best wishes to them in their upcoming performances.

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3
梦圆锦香亭

满座满座满座

Sunday, 17 Sep 2006. Tonight is the final performance by 广东潮剧院三团 in Singapore. In the morning, I went to Chong Pang area to develop some photos so that I could give them to my opera fans before they leave. When I reached that shop, I was surprised with the high tech machines installed for developing of photographs. I passed them the CDR and followed some simple steps, based on guidance since it was my first time doing it, to get the 219 photos developed. I collected the photos within 30 minutes though the standard processing time is one hour.

I left home at about 5.30 pm and I went to People Park's Complex to eat Yong Tau Fu at 高记酿豆腐 for my dinner. I missed that stall quite a lot. Three years ago, I patronized that at least once a week when my office was located in Central Mall. After eating, I stopped by Polar cake shop to buy some pineapple tarts. I told my wife I should buy a little present for 勇强 and 碧霞. So some local food would be good.

I reached the backstage at about 6.45 pm. The first person I met was 楚武. I passed him an envelope containing some photos. Then I saw 佳婉. I also gave her some photos. After that, I met 勇强. I passed him the pineapple tarts and some photos. I also asked him to autograph on 2 of the photos. We did not have much time chit chat as the backstage was very packed. I saw some aunties carrying packets of presents, some were busy sorting out photos while others were busying distributing red packets or 'ang pow'. I heard one auntie said each red packet contained $24. Wow! These people are really strong supporters of Teochew Opera.

I saw a signboard showing 'Full House' prominently displayed at the ticketing counter. At 7.45 pm, there was a short announcement by the MC. I got to know that one man spent $15,000 to sponsor the show for Sunday night. No wonder, those who bought a ticket to watch 节义夫妻 on 16 Sep 06 were given a free ticket for the Sunday performance. Not bad at all. I paid $20 for watching 节义夫妻 and was given a free ticket costing $40. I did not quite like the seat assigned to me. It was on the first row, right block, 5th seat from the end. It was not a good angle for taking photos. Some people were not happy with the seat allocation as several seats were issued double tickets. As a rule of thumb, first come first served basis. I told myself how lucky I was. If I were to mingle a little longer with my opera fans, I might end up sitting on PVC chairs. Then, one Member of Parliament appeared on stage. He delivered a short speech in Teochew and also introduced 知名丑角方展荣 and 中国潮剧著名青衣花旦姚璇秋. The MC also said the first day of the performance by 广东潮剧院三团 was also a full house as 义安公司 booked all the tickets. See a related article extracted from 潮剧大观园. “新加坡牛车水人民剧场人山人海，热闹非凡。喜逢新加坡潮阳会馆80大寿，广东潮剧院三团排演的新戏《节义夫妻》在这里鸣锣开演，祝贺本次庆典活动。当晚剧场门口摆满祝贺，演出成功的花篮，场内挤满观众，自始至终笑声阵阵，掌声雷鸣.”That evening, 碧霞 played the key female lead role, 天然. 勇强 continued to play the role of 高力士.

Below are some other photos taken.

At the end of the show, a group photo was taken.

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3

安禄山犯长安

Saturday, 16 Sep 2006. After the show 节义夫妻, I took a stroll to People Park's Complex. As I stayed in the North, I did not want to travel to and fro since I have to watch 安禄山犯长安 in the evening. I made arrangement for my wife to meet at Chinatown MRT station so that we could have dinner together. We had our dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. On that day, the decorations for Lunar eighth month moon cake festival have already put up along the main street in Chinatown.

This evening, the backstage was slightly more crowded than before. May be, the opera fans wanted more opportunities to talk to the actors and actresses since the next day would be the last day of their performance. I was busy searching for 勇强 as I wanted to introduce my wife to him but I could not locate him. So we decided to leave the backstage. On my way out, I saw 许佳婉 and asked her where 勇强 was. She pointed to someone behind me. Oh yes, that 勇强 had already dressed up for the show. I introduced my wife to him. However, his wife 碧霞 was busy making up so we did not disturb her. In the show 安禄山犯长安, 勇强 played the role of 高力士.

According to a newspaper report by 汕头日报 (25 Jul 06) and a writer called 邵建生, the show was specially picked to showcase the skills and talents of Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3. See reports extracted below:

倾力打造新编历史剧《锦香亭》在本次历史剧目中，三团颂力打造了一部新剧《锦香亭》，在抛弃原先广场戏拖沓冗长的基础上，以全新的构思理念、导演手法、演绎方式，力求融入现代都市剧的特点，予以观高雅、简洁的艺术感受，该剧分为上下两集，分别以《安禄山兵犯长安》和《梦圆锦香亭》.

上集《安禄山起兵》讲述唐开元末年，葛明霞与钟景期于葛府“锦香亭”邂逅而相爱。葛明霞这父葛太古因弹劾安禄山被贬范阳。这对恋人随之离异。钏景期考中状元，上表弹劾安禄山，又被贬四川，途中遇虎而为猎女天然所救。安禄山在范阳召集叛军进攻长安，葛太古斥贼被投监牢。

下集《梦圆锦香亭》讲述安禄山之子安庆绪图强占葛明霞，婢女红莲以身代死，葛明霞逃离虎口。玄宗皇帝与杨玉环逃难至马嵬坡，钟景期与天然前往救驾。得悉葛明霞已死，天然又真诚相爱，钟景期当着玄宗的面向她求婚。逃出虎口的葛明霞与书僮困顿于穷途之中，得天然救助。各路勤王大军杀败安禄山。葛太古得救，玄宗皇帝回朝。为了祭奠死去的葛明霞，葛太古和钟景期于锦香亭设坛拜祭，谁料葛明霞却在此时归来。故事曲折，剧情跌宕起伏，演出声情并茂，丝丝入扣，引人入胜。《锦香亭》由著名导演郭楠任艺术指导，编剧许镇焕、导演郑松明、作曲王庆苏，阵容较为强大，全剧共有30多名演员出场，在舞美设计、服装设计以及灯光器乐、音响投影等方面都结合剧情进行精心创作设计，融入了新的手法。新编潮剧《锦香亭》排了一个多月，花了编创人员和演员们的不少心血。

Personally, my wife and I did not find the show 安禄山兵犯长安 outstanding. I told my wife the show 碧血丹心 which I watched on Friday night was much far better than 安禄山兵犯长安. The show ended at about 10.30 pm. As it was not too late, we decided to go to the backstage again. We managed to meet up with 许碧霞.I introduced my wife to her. We talked to her for about 10 minutes. 许碧霞 also knows 蔡碧霞 and 林嘉. What a small world!

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3

节义夫妻

On 16 Sep 2006, Saturday afternoon, I went to watch 节义夫妻. The show started at 2.30 pm.

As I was early, I went to the back stage to look for my opera friends. I called them friends because they are really nice and sincere. The first person I met was 张楚武 in civilian. He told me he was free that afternoon. I took some photos of him. Then, 许佳婉 asked me to take a photo of her in civilian so that she could give it to her fans. After that, I met up with 李勇强. He told me that he would only appear in the first scene of 节义夫妻 as he would be 'gone' after that. I took some photos of him before I went to the cinema.

In the show 节义夫妻, 勇强 and 碧霞 acted as husband and wife. Think they are a lucky couple who has the opportunity to act as husband and wife in 节义夫妻.

During the tea break, I went to the back stage. This time, I was able to see 勇强 in civilian. Again, I took some photos of him in civilian and we took a few photos together.

Below are 2 photos taken during the second half of the show.

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3

碧血丹心

又见李勇强,喜见许碧霞

On 15 Sep 06, I took half day pm leave to set up my new modem and desktop. I was dog tired last night as I spent a few hours but still could not establish any connection. I wondered whether my new Dell desktop gave me problem or because the new modem is faulty. So, I brought my lap top home to ensure that there is an additional source for confirmation. To my horror, the new modem could not be connected too. Then, I used the old modem and found it working on my desktop. I called the equipment supplier and left a voice mail. Then, the technician called and told me a few customers had experienced the same problem. He suggested that I tried the Ethernet cable instead of the USB cable. I told him I would try later as I had spent enough time for the day.

Then, I decided to go and support 广东潮剧院三团. 勇强 told me he would playing a bigger role for the two shows 忠烈双娇 and 碧血丹心. Since I already missed 忠烈双娇, I must try to see him in action for 碧血丹心. After I had my ticket, I went to the back stage. 勇强 saw me and approached me. I was glad with his friendliness as I would not have recognised him. I told him I was busy and missed his performance last evening. Then, I took some pictures of him.

During the break, I went to the back stage to look for 勇强 again. As he played a leading role for 碧血丹心, more people recognized him and asked him for photo taking. While he was resting in a room, I told him the box office for this show was better than the previous two shows I watched. At that time, he was standing besides a lead actress. He introduced her as his wife. I asked if she was that lady general who played the key role just now. She acknowledged and introduced herself as 许碧霞.

I told them my wife would be joining me to watch their performance on Saturday as she has to take care of my boys.Then, 许碧霞 told me she saw me just now. I asked when and she said she was actually manning the ticketing counter just now and I purchased the few tickets from her. Oh yes, I bought two tickets for Saturday evening and one ticket for Saturday afternoon so that I could get a free ticket for Sunday evening, their final performance. I tried to recall the scene a while ago and it was indeed her. Cool! I did not know that they had been assigned so many duties. Then 勇强 was summoned by his fans for photo taking and I continued to chat with 碧霞. I told her my wife has the same surname and last name as her. We then talked about 广东潮剧院三团 and the shows they performed.I am happy to get to know 李勇强 and 许碧霞. I congratulated them for winning the Bronze awards at the recent competition held in Guangdong, China. Both them are very nice and sincere.碧血丹心 has a very good plot.

I enjoyed watching the show that evening. It ended at about 1045 pm.

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3
薛刚兴唐

Wednesday 13 Sep 2006

初遇姚璇秋和李勇强

On Wednesday, I went to Kreta Ayer Cinema to support 广东潮剧院三团. I reached the cinema at about 6.45 pm. After purchasing a $30 ticket, I had my dinner. Then I went to the back stage to look for 张楚武. I praised him for the outstanding performance last evening. He asked whether I was present for the rehearsal. I told him I had to work. 张楚武 said their usual schedule for rehearsal is in the afternoon.

This evening, 广东潮剧院三团 put up 薛刚兴唐. This is part 2 of 闹花灯. The box office was comparable to last evening. The plot is a little different from the black and white movie 薛刚反唐 by 陈楚蕙 and 曾珊凤. There were quite a few fighting scenes and there were much applause for quite a few actors at the various segments of the show. Overall, I think 许佳婉 played the role as 薛葵 very well. In my opinion, she emerged as one of the most outstanding actresses in the show 薛刚兴唐.

During the tea break, I went to the backstage. I was fortunate to see 中国潮剧著名青衣花旦姚璇秋 in person. I had a casual talk with her and took some photos too.

Then, I saw a young man with painted face and I asked him for a photo shoot. He introduced himself as 李勇强. Immediately, I recalled seeing his name as one of the winners for bronze medal at the 广东省第五届戏剧演艺大赛(潮剧赛区) which was just held in Guangdong from 28 to 31 Aug 2006. 李勇强 was awarded a bronze medal for his performance 武松杀嫂.

I congratulated him for winning the award and had a short chat with him. He told me he only played a small role in 薛刚兴唐. He said he would have more appearance in 忠烈双娇 and 碧血丹心 but I told him I might not have the time to watch so many performances. I find him very friendly and sincere.

The show 薛刚兴唐 ended at about 11 pm.

广东潮剧院三团 Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe 3 In Singapore
12 Sep 2006 闹花灯

三团来了!
好个张楚武!

Time flies.

In Jul 06, 广东潮剧院一团 put up a 9-day performance at Kreta Ayer Cinema. This time, Kreta Ayer Cinema has another troupe from China to keep opera fans busy for 9 days starting from 9 Sep 06. This troupe is 广东潮剧院三团. It is a relatively new troupe.

This troupe will also put up a 9-day performance in Singapore. 广东潮剧院三团演出的 10 场戏是:节义夫妻、狸猫换太子、包公会李后、闹花灯、薛刚兴唐、忠烈双娇、碧血丹心、安禄山犯长安、梦圆锦香亭。日场演出折子戏有:穆桂英招亲、井边会、晨钟惊梦、铁弓缘。 On Saturday, 16 Sep 2006, 广东潮剧院三团 will put up 节义夫妻 again in the afternoon and tickets are offered at special rates of $10 and $20.

I have not seen 节义夫妻 but it must be a good show since 广东潮剧院三团 arranged for this show on day 1. I understand that it was full house on day 1. Subsequently, the support has been lukewarm. Actually, I planned to watch 狸猫换太子 on 10 Sep 06 but then I was too tired after dismantling the old desktop and cleaning my study room as my new PC was scheduled to deliver on 11 Sep 06. As I have to be at home, I missed 包公会李后.

I decided to support 广东潮剧院三团 on Tuesday, 12 Sep 06. I packed my digital camera and spare shirt before leaving home for work in the morning. After work, I travelled to Outram Station and headed straight to the ticket stall. I decided to buy a $30 ticket (fifth row from the front, left section facing the stage) as the $50 tickets for row 1 had been sold out. At about 6.45 pm, about 30% of the cinema was booked. I thought the show 闹花灯 should be able to attract more audience as no other troupes had put up this performance before. However, the box office was a far cry compared to that of 广东潮剧院一团. Maybe 广东潮剧院三团 is still new and the tropue needs times to prove its worth.

After dinner, I went to the back stage. I only saw one familiar actor. He is the 知名丑角方展荣. As 东潮剧院三团 is not as popular as 广东潮剧院一团, 新加坡潮阳会馆 also invited him and 中国潮剧著名青衣花旦姚璇秋 to make special appearance for about 15 to 20 mins before the commencement of each show. Other than 姚璇秋 and 方展荣, most of the actors are very young. As 蔡碧霞老师 and 林嘉老师 of the Singapore Opera Institute were out of town, there was no one to do any formal introduction. I just walked around and took some photos.

Then, I saw an actor who has the make up of 薛刚. I asked him if he was performing the role as 薛刚 and he affirmed his role. I asked him to pose for some photo taking and he was more than happy to do so. He even suggested that I took some photo with him. But I was alone and all the people at the backstage seemed very busy. But this 薛刚 was very nice, he asked one elderly fans to help me with the photo taking. Hm, a pleasant experience. Then, I went outside to look at the pictures displayed. That guy who played the role as 薛刚 is called 张楚武.

闹花灯 is also commonly known as 薛刚大闹花灯. More than 300 people of his family were killed because of 薛刚. It all happened when 薛刚 went for lanterns viewing and tried to save a village girl who was being bullied. Coincidentally, the Tang Emperor, Empress Wu and their son, the Prince, were present too. The Prince sought the Emperor’s permission to mingle with the crowd and was stepped to death by 薛刚 when 薛刚 tried to save the village girl.

The Emperor and Empress Wu were too truamatised over the death of their son. Following the death of the Emperor, Empress Wu took revenge. The family of 薛刚 was punished and sentenced to death and buried in a tomb reinforced with iron.

张楚武 dominated the second half of the show. The main scenes were how he met his wife and how he escaped after being caught praying at the iron tomb. This part is normally called 薛刚哭铁丘坟.

陈楚蕙 三看御妹刘金定
Another Teochew Opera by Heavenly King 陈楚蕙

陈楚蕙 acted in this show 三看御妹刘金定 many times. She paired up with 谢子兰 of 泰中潮剧团 in Thailand. 陈楚蕙 and 沈惠贞 of China also acted in 三看御妹刘金定 when they performed in Singapore.

When I was a small boy, I watched 织云潮剧团 performed this classic opera 三看御妹刘金定 at the open space outside Block 68, Lorong 4, Toa Payoh. I was too young to appreciate the show but the crowd was fantastic. At that time, 织云潮剧团 had a strong team. The stage was packed with actresses when some 6 - 8 female soldiers accompanied 御妹刘金定 at the begining of the show. Nowadays, think I can only find such scene in Thailand or China Teochew opera troupes.

Special Appearance At Karaoke’s Contest 柴房会

In 1999, I sang a teochew opera song as a guest performer at a karaoke contest. The song which I sang was a segment from the 折子戏 柴房会. My performance lasted more than 15 minutes. That was the opera my wife and I watched at Raffles Place after we had our wedding photo taking session on the stage where 老赛桃源潮剧团 performed. Many of my colleagues were shocked with my performance. They wondered how I memorized all the lyrics as I hardly stared at the screen. I thought it was an achievement for me too.

See below, for the lyrics of the segment (adapted from chaoju.com), which I performed.


莫二娘（唱）尊声大哥我的大恩人，你莫惊。

李老三（唱）我不惊……

莫二娘（唱）请端坐容奴细诉苦情。

李老三（白）我端坐！我端坐！（唱）端坐，端坐在柴房之里，我劝一声冤魂鬼你莫悲声，你家住在哪一州，哪一府，哪一县，哪一乡？哪州哪府哪县哪乡，尊姓贵名从头讲。

莫二娘（唱）奴本是，太平县莫家庄人氏，莫二娘是妾的名字。幼年不幸双亲丧，丢下奴孤苦无依。投身富家为奴日，为奴为日受尽鞭答度日如年。

李老三（唱）在富家为奴不如牛和马，我也曾尝过这辛酸苦涩味。你千处万处不去投，这富家豪门怎么可依栖？难道你家无叔伯婶姆，远亲近邻，舅妗姑姨，投亲靠戚，寻藤宿枝，胜比那鸟人牢笼受磨折。

莫二娘（唱）言虽是，怎奈投亲又逢不义。堂叔起歹心，拐奴卖落烟花之地。正是前门方拒虎，后室豺狼又到身边。奴誓死不肯接客，恶鸨婆严刑毒施，打得我皮破肉裂。莫奈何涂脂抹粉，强颜欢笑吞声忍气。常抱琵琶偷弹泪，只望从良暗祷苍天。

李老三（唱）你既有心从良， 岂有才郎合你心意？

莫二娘（唱）那日来了一客商，甜言蜜语惜玉怜香。他怜我坠落火坑，每为我嗟叹心伤。我见他多情堪匹配，山盟海誓结鸳鸯。

李老三（唱）既是情投意合多恩爱，他何处人氏说给我知。

莫二娘（唱）他家住在扬州地，阳春便是他名字。见奴囊中多积蓄，商量赎身脱离烟花地。

李老三 后来如何？

莫二娘（唱）赎身之后同他归去，半途不幸遭病缠。谁料到贼阳春，心毒如蛇蝎，见奴财帛起歹意。汤药不顾恶言相欺，百般凌辱恨奴不死。竟乘奴病中昏睡， 盗金银首饰逃走离，丢奴在床奄奄待毙。势迫无奈寻短见， 阴魂不散在柴房里！

李老三 哎咋！阳春呀，狗奴才！（唱）我听，听听听，听冤魂言来伤心怀，果然冤情深似海。亏她历尽千般苦，铁石人闻之也悲哀。

Other Teochew Opera Stars
张丽金, 萧少云, 謝子蘭, 謝子雲 and 鄭婉英 paired up with 陈楚蕙 in Singapore

Over the last 4 decades, 陳楚蕙 performed in Singapore for about 15 times. Each time, she paired off with different female lead. 陳楚蕙 started off with 方巧玉 in 瀟湘秋雨, 秦原闖道 and 一門三進士. At that time 謝子蘭, 張麗金 and 鄭婉英 were playing supporting role.

Then, after the mid 1980s, 陳楚蕙 paired up with 泰中潮剧团 and 謝子蘭 emerged as female lead. I saw many video collections like 三看御妹, 紅鬃烈馬, 借劍, 孫安動本, 碧海丹心, 瀟湘秋雨 and 呂布與貂嬋. 謝子蘭 has a sister called 謝子雲. She only played a small role in many performances.

張麗金 started off playing small role in the black and white movies.For example in 穆桂英招亲 and 薛丁山與樊梨花. Then,in 1987, she played the key male supporting lead in 紅書寶劍, 碧海丹心, 孫安動本 and 怒斬楊廷芳.

I like 萧少云 very much. Think she only came to Singapore once. Her mother was the late 陳瑛 of 東山潮剧团. Her mother had been quite a popular actress. I watched 陳瑛 in many black and white movies like 羅衫記, 雙珠鳯, 吳漢殺妻, 李三娘井邊會, 籚林會, 三司會審玉堂春, etc. 萧少云 impressedme when she played the key male supporting lead in 一门三进士, 五子挂帅 and 雙刺史.

Another person is 鄭婉英. She played more important role in the later part of her career. I watched her performed in 岳王劍, 雙刺史 and 一门三进士.

陈楚蕙 - 一门三进士
Teochew Opera - One Family Three Scholars


Have you watched this Teochew opera performance 一门三进士 before? If not, have you listened to the tapes or CD before?

If you are a Teochew Opera fan and have not had any opportunity to do so, you may want to consider spending a few dollars to buy the tapes, CD or VCD. 一门三进士 has an excellent script which emphaises filial piety and ends up with a happy reunion.

There is no movie production for 一门三进士. In the early 1980's, only LPs and cassettes were available. It was produced by 新天彩潮剧团 with 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉 as the main lead. Subsequently 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉, 陈楚蕙 and China troupes, and 楚蕙潮剧团 put up 一门三进士 when they peformed in Singapore. The VCD version is currently available.

This is an opera that wring the tears from your eyes with its strange and sad tale of family separation. One thing common though, it ends with a happy re-union.

Here is the story line.

A poor scholar, 张文远, borrows money from two rich squires to go to the capital to sit for the imperial examintions. However, he fails his examinations and is not heard of again. The two squires approach his wife 孙淑林 to settle his debts.

She is forced to give out her two sons to that two men. She leaves her village and heads towards the capital to look for her husband, She ends up as a kicthen maid in her eldest son's house and is ill treated by her daughter-in-law.

Her two sons have a chance to reunite first but as her eldest daughter-in law has a father who is the prime minister, her eldest son does not want to talk about his past. The two brothers have a heated arguement and the case is handled by their father, who has also passed the imperial examinations and changed his name to 张达.

张文远 is happy that his younger son is filial and is also glad that his wife is still alive. A happy re-union for the family.

一门三进士 is also a hot favourite amongst Singapore local Teochew opera troupes. 织云潮剧团 and 金鹰潮剧团 had performed this show many times. I had seen the two troupes performed 一门三进士 at least 3 times each. I will continue to stand and watch the whole performance if they put up 一门三进士 again. It is a pity that there is no movie production for 一门三进士.

刘璋下山 - 陈楚蕙,曾珊凤
包公会李后 - 陈楚蕙,曾珊凤
刘明珠三审玉芝兰 - 庄雪娟,方巧玉

Infiltration Of Teochew Opera In Hostel and Examinations Hall

I stayed in Hall 3’s hostel when I was pursuing my undergraduate studies in NTU. During that time, I brought along a walkman and some Teochew cassette tapes as a key source of my recreational activities. Some popuplar teochew opera cassettes by 陈楚蕙 and 庄雪娟 including 包公会李后 (also known as 貍貓換太子), 刘璋下山, 刘明珠三审玉芝兰, 双珠凤 etc accompanied me during my days in the hostel.

My room mate is also a Teochew of the same age but he simply could not understand why I liked opera so much. During my final year, I behaved like most Singaporean students and was under stress to score well in my studies. To overcome stress, I listened repeatedly to the cassette 包公会李后.

When I was in the examinations hall for a particular paper, I could not recall my answers. All I could memorise was the lyrics of the Empress 李后 when she revealed to 包公 how she was harmed and ill-treated by the Empress 刘后 and the Eunuch (太监) 郭槐. That lasted for about 1 hour and I was seating worrying that I would not do well for that paper. I told my mum about the incident when I went home after the examinations and she laughed. But surprisingly I obtained a very good grade for that subject.

In a few days time, 中国潮剧著名青衣花旦姚璇秋已应新加坡潮阳会馆的邀请，随广东潮剧院三团到我国客串演出。 广东潮剧院三团在牛车水人民剧场演出10场重头戏. '狸猫换太子' and '包公会李后' are two of the 10 shows.

May be one day, some China teochew opera troupes will put up 刘明珠三审玉芝兰.