Jockey Club Local Creative Talents Series "Datong" The Chinese Utopia A chamber opera in three acts Chamber Opera | Hong Kong A trail-blazing political reformer and visionary thinker at the turn of the 20th century, Kang Youwei (1858-1927) envisioned a global utopia of human equality and solidarity. However, his advocacy of a constitutional monarchy, instead of a revolution, has caused him to become the bête noire of modern Chinese history. Datong – The Chinese Utopia focuses on this Guangdong native’s years of exile in Europe, Asia and America, as he and his daughter Kang Tongbi campaigned for a better future for their compatriots at home and abroad - which culminated in an anti-American boycott (1905-1906) to beat back the Chinese Exclusion act, and two meetings with a conciliatory Theodore Roosevelt. Writer/filmmaker Evans Chan, a descendant from Kang’s hometown, used his award-winning film Datong: The Great Society (2011) to develop the libretto for this chamber opera, set to music by renowned composer Chan Hing-yan. This HKAF commission is directed by acclaimed stage director Tang Shu-wing, featuring a stellar cast of Hong Kong’s homegrown classical vocalists and musicians at the outset of their international careers, along with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, and under the baton of no less than Philadelphia Orchestra’s Assistant Conductor Lio Kuokman, winner of the prestigious Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition of 2014 in France. CAST Kang Tongbi: Louise Kwong (Soprano) Kang Youwei : Apollo Wong (Bass) Empress Dowager Cixi / Lo Yifeng: Carol Lin (Mezzo-soprano) Missionary / Theodore Roosevelt: Chen Chen (Tenor) With 6-part Chorus and 12-Piece Ensemble PRODUCTION Music: Chan Hing-yan Libretto: Evans Chan Director: Tang Shu-wing Conductor: Lio Kuokman Set Designer: Yuen Hon-wai Costume Designer: Mandy Tam Lighting Designer: Billy Chan Commissioned and produced by the Hong Kong Arts Festival - Meet-the-artist (Post-performance): 21 Mar 2015 - Performed in Putonghua and English with Chinese and English surtitles