There was a wet market located at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh between Block 92 and Block 95. It was a regular place for street opera. We went there very often as it was very near our flat. I remembered watching 刘璋下山 and 雷峰塔 (Madam White Snake) by 老正天香潮剧团.
For 刘璋下山, we waited patiently till close to 10 pm to see the actress who played the male lead 刘璋. My eldest sister was with us and she knew the plot very well. The first two hours featured how the Han Emperor struggled to retain power and how 刘璋 escaped from death when he was a small boy. Then 刘璋 grew up and was trained by his master to be a very skillful swordsman. Unfortunately, he was inexperienced and saved his enemies instead and later had to behead his father to gain trust from the Empress. 陈 楚 蕙 also performed the role as 刘璋 in the movie 刘璋下山 with 曾珊凤. These two photos of 陈楚蕙 were taken when she peformed in the then Palace cinema in Katong more than 2 decades ago. I heard she regretted having performed there because many fans did not find the location convenient and she must have reaped in the least profit for the time and effort put in.
There was one day when 老玉春香潮剧团 was performing there, and I stood at the back of the opera stage to admire the actor/actresses painting their faces. I was so happy when one of the actresses asked me to buy her a packet of 7-UP. She spoke in Teochew and I did not know what the hell was ‘Chek Hee’七喜 as I did not have the luxury of having extra pocket money for soft drinks. I went to the nearby coffee shop and repeated what she told me. Then I realised it was actually 7-UP. She invited me to go on stage but I was too shy and declined. In Teochew opera, during the first day of the show, the troupe will perform 六国大封相 and followed by 京城会. These are standard ceremonial pieces of performance that are performed by every opera troupe on the first day of the 2-day performance. Some troupes choose to perform 十仙庆寿 instead of 六国大封相.
In the evening, all Teochew opera troupes will commence their show with a shorter version of 京城会 before they perform the show.
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