TORONTO—Singer Hong Ming caught the attention of a fellow tenor in the audience at the Canon Theatre Saturday night as Shen Yun Performing Arts continued its run in Toronto.
“Great technique, wonderful technique,” Mr. Castillo said of the Shen Yun tenor.
Shen Yun's Hong Ming was designated a “National First-Class Performer” in his native China. He has performed several times for foreign dignitaries and has won more than 30 awards at vocal competitions, including first prize in the 2008 International Chinese Vocal Competition in New York.
Mr. Castillo is a soloist tenor in the challenging bel canto style, which Hong Ming also employs. Mr. Castillo has himself performed in several countries, including in Asia, and is a vocal teacher in Toronto. He enjoyed the Shen Yun show Saturday night with his wife.
“His diction was unbelievable. It was impeccable,” Mr. Castillo said of Hong Ming.
“Well trained, well thought out. I think he was really working well with the accompanist as well. She was really telling the story.”
Hong Ming's Mandarin singing was part of an emmersion that left Mr. Castillo with a deep impression of Chinese culture and history.
“I felt as though I was transported to a time in history that has been forgotten by North Americans,” he said. “I actually felt as though I was part of a history that was being told. Even though it's not my history, it's like I wanted to be a part of that history.
Shen Yun gains its creative inspiration from traditional Chinese culture, according to a statement from Company Manager Tia Zhang in the program book. It seeks to “further this heritage, this treasure of humankind, through the artistic forms of classical and ethnic Chinese dance.”
“I appreciate the authenticity of it—the colours, the dancers, the technique,” said Mr. Castillo. “They really stayed within the lines of Chinese tradition, Chinese culture, Chinese story, myths and legends, that as a child you want to believe in. As an adult, you sort of forget these things, but you sort of want to believe in them again, that the world can be a better place.”
He described as “amazing” the state-of-the-art animated digital backdrops, which displayed traditional scenes and landscapes, accompanying the Shen Yun performances.
And he was taken by the colour of the costumes.
“I felt it really matched the landscape of the Chinese culture, the colours, the vibrancy of the colours,” he said, adding he was impressed no one tripped with all the long flowing sleeves and props.
“My favourite costume was the water dance costume,” he said. In Nymphs of the Sea, silk fans are used to simulate water in a remarkable, flowing presentation that drew oohs from the audience.
“That was unbelievable.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts will present one more show in Toronto at the Canon Theatre on Sunday at 2 p.m. before concluding its 2009 Canadian dates. The company is scheduled to return to Toronto in January with its all new 2010 program. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org .
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
