Opera for the Dead | 祭歌 review | Arts House

Eight hours before stepping into Opera for the Dead | 祭歌, I had been at a funeral. It was a death that arrives without warning, even after a life well-lived. By the time I entered the space at Art House, the weight of the day had settled in. Rather than wondering how I might react, I found myself acutely aware of the strange symmetry, moving from a real farewell into an immersive exploration on life and death.

Created by Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim, the work fuses music, visuals and technology into a contemporary Chinese cyber-opera that is both ancient and strikingly modern. Before the show begins, the audience is gathered into a “waiting room”. Chanting hums through the space, cyclical and meditative, while an electronic sign suspended above us flashes the word REMEMBER, its glow washing over us like a quiet instruction. The atmosphere is deliberate, balanced between worlds.

We then move into a darkened room. Along the walls, metal bowls hang from the ceiling, each holding mandarin oranges and small bells. As vibrations travel throughout, the bells begin to ring and the oranges bounce vigorously in response. The noise and images are impossible to ignore. It makes the idea of lingering presence feel physical rather than symbolic.

In the centre are black boxed stages, veiled by sheer, hanging curtains with the performers - Alexander Meagher on percussion, Nils Hobiger on cello, vocalist Yu Tien Lin, Wang on guzheng (ancient Chinese plucked zither), and Lim on electronic – are situated, dimly lit, visible only in fragments, appearing and disappearing as you move around them. The staging requires us to wander, and the set itself shifts and opens by care of the two Wuchang, Ong Wen Chen and Jiawen Feng, who are responsible for escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. This reinforces the sense that life and death are not fixed states, but something constantly in motion.

As mentioned in the post-show Q&A, this is about taking tradition but honouring it in a contemporary way. So when you combine Lin's hypnotic operatic solo with Rel Pham's digital screen animations of personal objects such as teddy bears and horses, it becomes a way of reflecting on how tradition and technology can sit comfortably together.

Although the work is deeply rooted in Chinese customs, its themes are universal. I am not Chinese, yet the ideas of ritual, remembrance and transition still resonated. The cultural references gave Opera for the Dead | 祭歌 specificity and richness, but it did not create distance. Instead, the piece felt like a shared offering, a space where loss could be acknowledged together, suggesting that remembrance can become an act of generosity, intention and ritual, regardless of background.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Arts House, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne
Season: until 1 Mar | Sun 5pm
Duration: 50 minutes
Tickets: $40 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: Arts House

Image credit: Michael Pham