May2016
Smile
119
ANIGHT
ATTHE
OPERA
T
heseare thecustodiansofa
dyingart.With theirstylized
movements, theatrical voices,
loud facepaintandequallygaudy
traditional costumes, Singapore’sChinese
streetoperaartistspersonify thisnation’s
cultural ties to theMiddleKingdom.Yet
theirperformancescarryanameborne from
thenativeMalayvernacular—
wayang
, a
local term for “theater”,whichhasbecome
synonymouswith theiruniquebrand
ofancientartistry. Singapore’swayang
performersarea fascinatingpeek into this
country’snot-too-distantpast.
Thewayanghavecapturedmy imagination
eversince Ifirst saw thesepainted
performersoveradecadeago.Disciplesof
oneof theearliest formsofdrama, theirs
isanart form thathailsback to Imperial
China’sSongDynasty in the13thcentury.
Chinesestreetopera, youcouldsay,wasmy
introduction toSingapore’s traditional side,
anaspectofculture that isoftensweptunder
thiscountry’sultra-modernsheen.
ACENTURIES-OLDTRADITIONOF
SONG, ELABORATECOSTUMESAND
EPICSTORYLINES,WAYANGOPERA
SURVIVESASAPOP-UPARTFORM
ONTHEHYPER-MODERNSTREETSOF
SINGAPORE.BYLESTERV. LEDESMA
PHOTOSBY
LESTERV. LEDESMA
