04 September 2022 | 14:00 EDT

Event poster

Presenters:

• Madeleine Thien, Librettist
• Alice Ping Yee Ho, Composer
• Paul Yee, Hoisanese Translator
• Arlene Chan, Chinatown Expert
• Moderator: Dr. Lien Chao

With great honour and excitement, AHM invites all of you to the first virtual interview of a new Canadian opera, Chinatown, prior to its concert staging preview on 13 September 2022 in Vancouver.

This new Western opera is created by a team of award-winning Chinese Canadian artists: penned by award-winning writer Madeleine Thien as the librettist, composed by multi-award-winning composer Alice Ping Yee Ho, and the Hoisan dialect was translated by award-winning writer Paul Yee. Chinatown Expert Arlene Chan will also provide the contextual information.

The virtual interview will be conducted by award-winning critic Lien Chao.

Opera Chinatown is emotionally connected to different generations of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver. Many of them arrived and worked with their lives being confined for decades in Chinatown, and yet they built their home and community with their resilience.

Opera Chinatown stages an old dream coming true: Chinese immigrants’ historical experience will not be forgotten, parts of historical Chinatown, hopefully, would be preserved as Canadian heritage sites. City Opera Vancouver is the proud sponsor for the creation and production of the new landmark opera Chinatown.

Please join us to participate in the first virtual interview with the creation team and the cast in their current busy rehearsal. We will play a few clips from the rehearsal.

Here are some sample arias, generously provided by City Opera Vancouver:

Anna’s Aria:

Eugene’s Aria:

Hoisan Singer’s Aria:

Wenli’s Aria:

Event co-organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; City Opera Vancouver; Toronto Public Library; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists’ Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society

Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund.

Images provided by City Opera Vancouver.