Chinese Opera as a photographic theme has been much overdone especially in Singapore. Like the "colourful" festivals that are a part of the cultures here such as Thaipusam, Hari Raya and the like, it draws a string of amateur to professional photographers anxious to perfect their own version of a time worn cliché. One only has to look at the hackneyed photography in the many books on Singapore to realize that how infinitely boring such photographs are when seen over and over again in various incarnations. If I may forward a motive for this overdone fetish, I believe perhaps such avenues are to the perfect place to exercise one's cabinet of photographic equipment, or to justify their ownership. Or perhaps in the stunted minds of many local photographers who strive to compete against each other to get the best picture, such events are the playing field for the photographic ego. It comes as no surprise to me that Salon photographers in particular have an undying loyalty to the yearly festivals. The colour and the spectacle are of course primary motivations for the Velvia they normally use.

I do regret placing my own versions up for display, because as a rule I keep away from events that are described as "photogenic". Here however I couldn't resist. This performance was put up at a place in Singapore called Clarke Quay, a tourist trap near to Boat Quay. Having never seen a performance like this up close before, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to have a look at this dying "artform". But when the gongs, drums and other noisy implements to the process of "music" came about, I thought to myself that I would give it at least 5 minutes more before I made a judgement. Then the characters that you see below came on stage and the "singing" began. To me however it sounded like crowing. The way Chinese opera is sung is particularly harsh on the ears. For the foreign tourists there who could not understand a thing (or rather say a noise) that was being sung, translations were flashed with a slide projector that kept in line with the lines. If you look at the picture below you will be able to see it in the foreground but out of focus. Needless to say I left after I took the following pictures.

Minutes before the performance.

A few lines and I was out of there. Nice costume though…

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