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Luminato review: Atom Egoyan serves up multi-disciplinary triumph with Feng Yi Ting

By John Terauds on June 20, 2013

Shen Tiemei as Dian Chan in Feng Yi Ting at the MacMillan Theatre (Julia Lynn photo).
Shen Tiemei as Dian Chan in Feng Yi Ting at the MacMillan Theatre (Julia Lynn photo).

Atom Egoyan has wrought a tidy theatrical masterpiece out of a thin slice of Chinese legend in Feng Yi Ting, which had its Luminato premiere on Thursday night at University of Toronto’s MacMillan Theatre.

The wonderful, engrossing, 45-minute show is an ensemble effort on the part of some very fine musicians as well as theatre artists. It would take three quarters of an hour alone to describe the many layers of detail that work together to produce a psychologically as well as musically rich tapestry.

Feng Yi Ting is the Temple of the Phoenix, the place of the story’s dénouement — the only scene we get to witness of a wider tale of political and personal intrigue from Han Dynasty China.

Diao Chan, one of four legendary beauties of ancient Chinese lore, has been convinced to use her feminine wiles to drive a wedge between a warlord and his godson, Lu Bu. The resulting enmity leads to a murder that will leave the kingdom a better place.

Sichuan opera singer Shen Tiemei is all  determination wrapped in elegance as the femme fatale, present on stage from beginning to end. She sings in traditional Chinese style — very well. The godson’s role is filled by Peking opera actor Jiang Qihu, singing in male falsetto — and very much confined to the basic, minimal gestures of that style of performance.

What the traditional Chinese opera lacks in dynamism for a modern Western audience, Egoyan and the creative team more than make up for in a wealth of detail, from little clay statuettes on a conveyor belt to elaborate shadow play, to some very clever live camera work and projections.

All the psychological motivations, misgivings and other thoughts and emotions swirling inside the heads of our flesh-and-blood protagonists somehow find a place on this stage, gorgeously lit in a combination of sepia tones and intensely saturated colours.

Absolutely everyone involved in this show, which had its premiere at the Spoleto festival last year, with a second run at the Lincoln Center Festival last summer, deserves kudos for creating such a seamless theatrical tapestry — from Egoyan to set designer Derek McLane, costumer Han Feng, lighting designer Matthew Frey, videographer Tsang Kin-Wah and projection designer Cameron Davis.

Composer Guo Wenjing has been no less masterful in blending traditional Chinese and modern Western instruments. It is rare for them to cohabit the same atonal score with such complementary power. The 16-member orchestra, largely made up of Torontonians, was tightly led by visiting conductor Ken Lam (who has been with this show since last year).

This is one of those shows that one could go see several times over, and find new details to absorb and appreciate. It’s well worth catching one of the remaining performances this weekend. Details here.

John Terauds

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