IPOH, March 25 — SMJK Sam Tet student Loo Zhi Hua, 14, is possibly the youngest Cantonese opera singer in the country.
The youngest of three children may have only started dabbling in opera singing two years ago, but his interest was sparked at the age of five.
“I followed my father who was fulfilling a vow during the Nine Emperor God Festival, and there was an opera performance in the temple.
“I was attracted by the colourful costumes worn by the performers and also the make-up on their faces.”
Loo then began singing the opera at home.
As fate would have it, two years ago he met a member of a troupe that he now belongs to.
“At that time, I was at a bookshop looking for a Chinese fan used to perform in an opera and the member Ng Shaw Fong was looking for paint to be used as cosmetics.
“We then started talking and she offered to introduce me to her leader.”
And as they say, the rest is history.
With virtually no experience in opera singing, Loo had to start from the bottom of the ladder.
“I carry small characters such as soldiers and my singing is minimal,” he said, sharing that the Lunar month of February, June and Septembers are the busy months for opera troupes.
“During those months, all troupes including ours will be fully booked.”
Apart from temples, associations would also invite opera troupes to perform at its anniversary celebration.
Preparing for a performance
Loo said he would be given a script by the troupe leader before a scheduled performance.
“I will then read through it and memorise the parts that I need to perform.
“Sometimes I will get the script days before a performance. There are also times when I only got the script on the day itself,” he said.
“That is when I will steal time in between lessons at school to read the script.”
Before a performance, Loo will do the make-up himself, having learnt it by observing other troupe members, before wearing the costume.
“Sometimes I need the help of other troupe members to help me wear my costumes as there are several layers to wear.”
As each performance can last up to three hours, he said he would avoid a heavy meal on days he needs to perform.
“This is because I will get a headache if I eat a heavy meal before a performance.”
Support from family and troupe members
Loo said his family has been very supportive of his involvement in opera.
“My parents gave me money to buy the costumes that I wear in the performance.
“The reason being I plan to be involved in the art for as long as I can, so they agreed I should invest in new costumes.”
Although he is paid a nominal fee for his performances, Loo said he said he did not mind forking out more, due to his love for the art.
“In the past two years I have spent some RM20,000. Besides the cost to purchase costumes, I also need to pay for transport fees to travel from my Kampung Simee home to the performance location.”
While some of his friends questioned his wisdom in getting involved in the opera, Loo said it is because of his deep interest.
“I see myself as the person to take over the troupe one day and be the main cast.
“Hence I do not mind forking out money and also investing my time.”
