陈楚蕙潮剧艺术演唱会 2008 (第二场演出)
Tan Chor Hwee Teochew Opera and Concert – Day 2
Saturday, 26 Apr 2008

This evening, my wife and I came to Kreta Ayer Theatre to support our favourite idol 陈楚蕙. We were surprised that the door leading to the backstage was opened. We quickly made our way to the backstage and took some pictures with 陈楚蕙 in 旗袍. Then, we saw 沈惠贞, 林玉, 余丽莉 and 张应炎 painting their faces. We said hello to our friend from the Chinese Opera Institute (戏曲学院), 蔡碧霞. We saw 陈国来 too. 沈惠贞 was very nice. She had a few words with us. As the crowd became bigger, we set off to the audience seats.

Again, 陈楚蕙 sang a few songs but she did not sing any Cantonese song tonight. She then invited余丽莉 to sing 毛子佩 with her. I was a little disappointed because I thought that was a折子戏. Then, 陈国来 and 蔡碧霞 sang 告亲夫.

Tonight, the MCs announced that the audience could take photos from where were seated. Alamak, should have brought two cameras leh. Qilin told me he heard someone expressed their unhappiness to the organizer. So, sometimes it pays to complain right.

The first 折子戏 was 潇湘秋雨 by 林玉and 张应炎. 蔡碧霞undertook an additional role as MC and she recited a brief of the story line before the performance began. The 折子戏is one of the best parts of the show 潇湘秋雨 in which 崔妙兰 met her father 崔广祥 at 潇湘. This is the only折子戏 by 张应炎 and he is already 75 years old. I also watched him performed in Malaysia year. Not sure if am bias but I strongly feel that only方巧玉 has the ability to sing and perform the role as 崔妙兰 in view of her special voice quality and her polished acting skills.

The next 折子戏 is our favourite show. It is none other than 别窑 from the show 红鬃烈马. 陈楚蕙 played the role as 薛平贵 and 沈惠贞 played the role as 王宝钏. This attracted the loudest applause and many of us were thrilled with the very high standard of performance. According to the programme, this is last performance but it was still early. So we had the opportunity to watch two more 折子戏.



The first one was 白蛇传. It was about Madam White Snake and her sister, the Green Snake. Thee next 折子戏 was a big surprise. It was 盘夫by陈楚蕙 and 林玉. This is best segment adapted from the show 严兰贞敲破玉花瓶. I recalled 陈楚蕙 and 林玉 performed this折子戏 before but I never get a chance to watch it. I like this opera movie very much. I always listen to the CD recorded by陈楚蕙 and 曾珊凤. This segment is about 曾荣 revealing the truth of his identity to his wife 严兰真. It is really百听不厌.



The show ended at about 11.10 pm. My wife and I wanted to go to the back stage but we saw some actresses had dressed down. Then, we saw陈国来. I asked my wife to take a photo for me.