29/1/2008

staged a few months of performances in Thailand. Then, one of my sister’s friends managed to get a set of video tapes of 五 龙 会 or later known as 五子挂帅. We were excited to watch the video although the quality was not very good. We waited patiently for her arrival as the market in Singapore is not big compared to Thailand.

Teochew Street Opera And Hungry Ghost Festival - 1

街戏与庆中元

During the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival in the l970s, I would go out for wayang performance if there were opera troupes performing in the nearby blocks. How did i get to know the details? You wondered. During that time, the organisers would paste a red A1 size red flyer/poster stating the dates, the name of troupe and the location. We would definitely go out if the performances took place over the weekends. You could still find such A1 poster nowadays but is confined to areas in the market place.

There was a wet market located at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh between Block 92 and Block 95. It was a regular place for street opera. We went there very often as it was very near our flat. I remembered watching 刘璋下山 and 雷峰塔 (Madam White Snake) by 老正天香潮剧团.

For 刘璋下山, we waited patiently till close to 10 pm to see the actress who played the male lead 刘璋. My eldest sister was with us and she knew the plot very well. The first two hours featured how the Han Emperor struggled to retain power and how 刘璋 escaped from death when he was a small boy. Then 刘璋 grew up and was trained by his master to be a very skillful swordsman. Unfortunately, he was inexperienced and saved his enemies instead and later had to behead his father to gain trust from the Empress. 陈 楚 蕙 also performed the role as 刘璋 in the movie 刘璋下山 with 曾珊凤. These two photos of 陈楚蕙 were taken when she peformed in the then Palace cinema in Katong more than 2 decades ago. I heard she regretted having performed there because many fans did not find the location convenient and she must have reaped in the least profit for the time and effort put in.

Many opera troupes like 老玉春香潮剧团, 新一天彩潮剧团, 新荣和兴潮剧团 also performed at the market place at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh. When there were opera performances, the place was very packed and one could hardly move.

was always opened. I saw many mature aunties sighing and cursing. So, boh pian loh, cannot go in mah

backstage was locked. This was unusual as in the past, whenever there was a performance by Chor Hwee, the door to the back stage was always opened. I saw many mature aunties sighing and cursing. So, boh pian loh, cannot go in mah

when the MCs appeared. The male MC, Niu Ma Ding (牛马丁) was doing a fair job because he could speak Teochew and amuse the  in  1997  sata  tug  jui  gi

thailand

when the MCs appeared. The male MC, Niu Ma Ding (牛马丁) was doing a fair job because he could speak Teochew and amuse the audience but I bet he was not very familiar with Teochew opera. It was unbelievable to notice that his counter part, the female MC, could not even speak the Teochew dialect. She said fragmented words

28/1/2008

backstage was locked. This was unusual as in the past, whenever there was a performance by Chor Hwee, the door to the back stage was always opened. I saw many mature aunties sighing and cursing. So, boh pian loh, cannot go in mah

backstage was locked. This was unusual as in the past, whenever there was a performance by Chor Hwee, the door to the back stage was always opened. I saw many mature aunties sighing and cursing. So, boh pian loh, cannot go in mah

when the MCs appeared. The male MC, Niu Ma Ding (牛马丁) was doing a fair job because he could speak Teochew and amuse the audience but I bet he was not very familiar with Teochew opera. It was unbelievable to notice that his counter part, the female MC, could not even speak the Teochew dialect. She said fragmented words

when the MCs appeared. The male MC, Niu Ma Ding (牛马丁) was doing a fair job because he could speak Teochew and amuse the audience but I bet he was not very familiar with Teochew opera. It was unbelievable to notice that his counter part, the female MC, could not even speak the Teochew dialect. She said fragmented words

when the MCs appeared. The male MC, Niu Ma Ding (牛马丁) was doing a fair job because he could speak Teochew and amuse the audience but I bet he was not very familiar with Teochew opera. It was unbelievable to notice that his counter part, the female MC, could not even speak the Teochew dialect. She said fragmented words

27/1/2008

Immediately after my last final year paper in 1987, I rushed to watch the Teochew opera performance by 陈楚蕙 at Kreta Ayer theatre. She made a return after she stopped performing in Singapore for many years. Normally, she would stage her performance in Thailand first as she had a lot of businesses and supporters in Thailand. In fact, five years ago, ie 1982, she staged a few months of performances in Thailand. Then, one of my sister’s friends managed to get a set of video tapes of 五 龙 会 or later known as 五子挂帅. We were excited to watch the video although the quality was not very good. We waited patiently for her arrival as the market in Singapore is not big compared to Thailand.

陈楚蕙 performed many popular shows in Thailand and they were available on video. Some of the shows were 红鬃烈马, 借剑, 碧海丹心, 孟丽君 and 红书宝剑. The following pages capture pictures of her performances in Thailand.

In 1987, I watched 薛丁山(Part 1 and 2), 红鬃烈马, 怒斩杨廷芳, etc. We loved 陈楚蕙 so much as her voice is unique. You cannot find this in any other artiste. She looks fantastic when dressed and dolled up. 陈楚蕙 is deeply loved by the audience not only because of her acting skills but also because she is humble and has excellent interpersonal skills.

The performance that year had been very successful. See a related Chinese article.
一九八七年，陈楚惠出人意外地亲率新天彩潮剧团，又一次来到新加坡。那时候，中国广东潮剧团已经前后来过三次，由中国输入本邦的录音、录相充斥市场，以香港潮剧团的水准，在本地还能卖座吗？谁都不敢有太大的信心，唯独可以略为壮胆的，只有"陈楚惠"三个字。出钱赞助主办的人，也都抱着亏本无所谓的心态，要给陈楚惠一个考验。为了减轻成本负担，部分乐员及配角都在新加坡临时聘用。陈楚惠在牛车水人民剧场演足了一个月，星期天还要加演日场，票房纪录却是有增无减。就在这个时候，由国这剧场主办的中国广东潮剧团第二团，也来到新加坡，由郑健英挂帅，在嘉龙剧场开锣上阵。好个陈楚惠，竟宣布展演十天，与广东潮剧团演对台戏，而在这最后十天中，仍然夜夜爆满。她在人民剧场院共四十天，演了四十四场戏，不论新剧目或旧剧目

17/6/2007

Immediately after my last final year paper in 1987, I rushed to watch the Teochew opera performance by 陈楚蕙 at Kreta Ayer theatre. She made a return after she stopped performing in Singapore for many years. Normally, she would stage her performance in Thailand first as she had a lot of businesses and supporters in Thailand. In fact, five years ago, ie 1982, she staged a few months of performances in Thailand. Then, one of my sister’s friends managed to get a set of video tapes of 五 龙 会 or later known as 五子挂帅. We were excited to watch the video although the quality was not very good. We waited patiently for her arrival as the market in Singapore is not big compared to Thailand.

陈楚蕙 performed many popular shows in Thailand and they were available on video. Some of the shows were 红鬃烈马, 借剑, 碧海丹心, 孟丽君 and 红书宝剑. The following pages capture pictures of her performances in Thailand.

In 1987, I watched 薛丁山(Part 1 and 2), 红鬃烈马, 怒斩杨廷芳, etc. We loved 陈楚蕙 so much as her voice is unique. You cannot find this in any other artiste. She looks fantastic when dressed and dolled up. 陈楚蕙 is deeply loved by the audience not only because of her acting skills but also because she is humble and has excellent interpersonal skills.

The performance that year had been very successful. See a related Chinese article.
一九八七年，陈楚惠出人意外地亲率新天彩潮剧团，又一次来到新加坡。那时候，中国广东潮剧团已经前后来过三次，由中国输入本邦的录音、录相充斥市场，以香港潮剧团的水准，在本地还能卖座吗？谁都不敢有太大的信心，唯独可以略为壮胆的，只有"陈楚惠"三个字。出钱赞助主办的人，也都抱着亏本无所谓的心态，要给陈楚惠一个考验。为了减轻成本负担，部分乐员及配角都在新加坡临时聘用。陈楚惠在牛车水人民剧场演足了一个月，星期天还要加演日场，票房纪录却是有增无减。就在这个时候，由国这剧场主办的中国广东潮剧团第二团，也来到新加坡，由郑健英挂帅，在嘉龙剧场开锣上阵。好个陈楚惠，竟宣布展演十天，与广东潮剧团演对台戏，而在这最后十天中，仍然夜夜爆满。她在人民剧场院共四十天，演了四十四场戏，不论新剧目或旧剧目，戏迷都支持到底。陈楚惠有这样的号召力，实在是足以自豪的

22/8/2008

Growing Up With Teochew Opera 9Teochew Opera Troupes From Hong Kong香港的潮剧团 - 新天彩潮剧团, 昇艺潮剧团

In the 1970s and 1980s, Teochew opera troupes from Hong Kong performed in Thailand and Singapore. Hong Kong’s 新天彩潮剧团 normally staged their performance in 新世界 New World in Jalan Besar (already demolished and a new condominium City Square Residences had been built on the same plot of land.) 陈楚蕙 appeared as guest performer at one time and only performed two titles, 红书宝剑 and 萧湘秋雨 . This was to land support to 方巧玉 who paired off many less popular ‘male’ lead during and was facing pressure and stiff competition from 昇艺潮剧团.

昇艺潮剧团 had many young and adorable actress like 陈碧霞 and Loh Quee Hong. They performed at the same time at the open space near Golden Cinema. There was one year, my mother and I had to choose to watch a performance from each troupe because of tight budget. We watched 双挂帅 played by 方巧玉 of 新天彩潮剧团 and 秦怀玉

financial backings and strengthen their pool of actors and actresses including inviting 细妹 who had quitted from 新荣和兴潮剧团 to come back on stage. They put up two performances, 借剑 and 秦原闯道. At that time, 细妹 had the habit of forgetting the lyrics and had to depend on the co-actors to help her with the singing. Some audience said they would not mind as Soy Muay had not been performing for many years. Later, she joined 金鹰潮剧团 as one of the many 小生. I saw her pefroemd in 柴房会 and 一门三进士 at Whompoa market and 刘明珠 in Ang Mo Kio.

 very talented actress but think people commented that she was a bit proud. She played the role as 杨令婆 in 杨令婆辩十本 very well. The original performance was put up by 洪妙, a male

 very talented actress but think people commented that she was a bit proud. She played the role as 杨令婆 in 杨令婆辩十本 very well. The original performance was put up by 洪妙, a male

 very talented actress but think people commented that she was a bit proud. She played the role as 杨令婆 in 杨令婆辩十本 very well. The original performance was put up by 洪妙, a male

21/8/2008

难道陈楚惠演艺的真的已经炉火纯青

1973年，新天彩潮剧团第三度南来，只少了一个陈楚惠（她息影剧坛，从商去了）；于是，观众就如一湖死水，激不起一点涟漪，票房纪录空前惨淡，连演了十几场，主办者眼看血本无归，却又欲罢不能；最的，还是重金商请陈楚惠从香港赶来助阵，才得扭转乾坤，挽回危局。陈楚惠又以《潇湘秋雨》、《红书宝剑》等剧目再掀高潮，往观者络绎不绝，由于向隅者多，竟还时时出现一些“隐形市场”炒卖入场券的事件，陈楚蕙因此被誉为“东南亚潮剧小生王”，“新天彩潮剧团”也获得了“香港长寿戏霸”的称号。

难道陈楚惠的演艺真的已经炉火纯青、超凡入圣了吗？她究竟有什么魅力，能够使戏迷为她而迷死？其实说穿了，也没有什么稀奇。首先，自从有了潮剧电景，陈楚惠主演的影片最多，是诸多潮剧电影明星中较为突出的一个，给观众留下了深刻的良好印象；其次，她对人态度友善，没有大牌演员倨傲放肆的气势，因她人缘很好，几度来新演出，接触面都非常广，不论富商巨贾、贩夫走卒，她都能坦诚相待，没有势力、贪婪或虚伪造作的恶习。凡是跟她接触过的观众，很快地便成为她的戏学，与她交往则引以为荣，视为乐事。所以，她的剧艺造诣虽非冠压群芳，却因戏迷对她有亲切感而建立了广泛的观众基础，这就是这所以称为"迷死"。

After the formation of 金鹰潮剧团, 新荣和兴潮剧团 was at the verge of folding up. Not only the key leads were gone, the shows they put up were very limited. If I recalled correctly, they invited one of the former lead actresses 陈巧娇 to perform a few months. That did not not create any significant impact as the shows like 女状元 and 渔女鸣冤 (I hope I remembered the titles correctly) did not excite the audience much.

In the early 80’s, another opera troupe 新一天彩潮剧团 got some financial backings and strengthen their pool of actors and actresses including inviting 细妹 who had quitted from 新荣和兴潮剧团 to come back on stage. They put up two performances, 借剑 and 秦原闯道. At that time, 细妹 had the habit of forgetting the lyrics and had to depend on the co-actors to help her with the singing. Some audience said they would not mind as Soy Muay had not been performing for many years. Later, she joined 金鹰潮剧团 as one of the many 小生. I saw her pefroemd in 柴房会 and 一门三进士 at Whompoa market and 刘明珠 in Ang Mo Kio.

陈楚蕙 and 张应炎 has also paired many times for the show 借剑. Besides the LP recording, 新天彩潮剧团 also performed this show in Thailand in the 1980's and staged the same performance in year 2004.

In the 90’s, there were two sub-standards opera troupes that were invited to perform mostly during the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival. 正天香潮剧团 would perform 碧玉簪 (The Jade Hairpin) every now and then. That 小生 was actually the one who played the role as

汉末年，刘秀与姐湖阳公主，征讨王莽，误中圈套， 驸马战死。 村姑郑三姐送饭， 并引路突围， 湖阳公主姐弟感恩， 以剑穗赠三姐。 刘秀登基， 湖阳公主欲招大司空宋弘为驸马， 怎料宋弘夫妻糟糠情深， 再三相拒。郭皇后姐弟从中作梗，私遣宋夫人回乡，中途被马忠所救。刘秀金殿下旨完婚，宋弘再次拒婚并骂刘秀不义。 汉王大怒，立斩宋弘。 宋夫人惊闻恶讯，立刻与马忠将军赶往法场，见宋弘最后一面。

汉末年，刘秀与姐湖阳公主，征讨王莽，误中圈套， 驸马战死。 村姑郑三姐送饭， 并引路突围， 湖阳公主姐弟感恩， 以剑穗赠三姐。 刘秀登基， 湖阳公主欲招大司空宋弘为驸马， 怎料宋弘夫妻糟糠情深， 再三相拒。郭皇后姐弟从中作梗，私遣宋夫人回乡，中途被马忠所救。刘秀金殿下旨完婚，宋弘再次拒婚并骂刘秀不义。 汉王大怒，立斩宋弘。 宋夫人惊闻恶讯，立刻与马忠将军赶往法场，见宋弘最后一面。

20/8/2008

香港小生王陈楚蕙经典潮剧表演晚会
看到海报真兴奋，陈楚蕙就要和大家见面了，由于演出时间只有短短的几天，不知能够看几场戏。 期待

During Lunar New Year, many Chinese would like to paste the lucky word '福' upside down at some prominent parts of their house. In Chinese, it is '福到' and means luck has arrived. I can think of one Teochew opera which associates with the word '福'. This show is called 三家福. I understand that 陈楚蕙 will be performing segments of 三家福 in JB in Apr 2007.

Tan Chor Hwee will be back on stage again. However, the stage performance will take place in JB instead of Singapore. According to a newspaper article, 陈楚蕙 will be pairing up with 沈惠贞 of China this time.

There will be no new surprises in the series of performance as she will be putting up 三看御妹刘金定, 红鬃烈马, 一门三进士, 宋弘拒婚 etc. The only performance which she rarely put up in recent years is 三家福.

 

I am not sure if I could spare the time to cross the causeway and watch her performance. My favourite show, 一门三进士 has been scheduled on two week days. Sigh.

早期接触的潮剧演出，一般都是由女演员扮男生演小生，印象深刻当然是香港潮剧小生王陈楚蕙。她的小生装扮为妙为俏，风流潇洒，声线够粗，演绎起来十足像个男演员。

刚从新山的中华公会回来。在那儿的黄树芬礼堂，看完由香港楚蕙潮剧团与中国诏安潮剧团所联合演出的潮剧。这此虽然上演的都是一些旧戏，但它们都是百看不厌的好戏。而较新的剧目如《楚宫恨》，更是令人留下难忘的回忆。这此的服装都以刺绣为主，很少会看见绣上亮片的戏服。两团的演员个个都进步不少，尤其是惠贞，无论任何剧种，她似乎都能胜任。这此蕙姨也很卖力，流了不少的眼泪，打动了全场的观众，在《名将忠魂》里还挥大旗！她也不小了，这样翻来覆去，真教我们这一班楚蕙迷，替她捏一把冷汗。

这一回，张应炎也有参与《红鬃烈马》与《一门三进士》的演出。每当剧目圆满收场时，我想我们能给台上粉墨登场的演员们的，就是不间断的掌声与欢呼。虽然潮剧已没有六、七十年代这么受欢迎，但是从这此蕙姨的演出看来，潮剧是绝对不会在半个世纪后荡然无存的。看了许多剧团的演出，还是比较喜欢香港的演出与音乐的处理方式。有人会说香港的版本是错的，但是我就是喜欢它错得感人肺腑，错得受欢迎，错得让人无法忘怀，错得想让人一看再看，错得领观众觉得值回票价。既然错得有这么多正面的回响，何不说它是对的，因为我喜欢

Was really busy over the past few months that I didn’t even blog about 陈楚蕙! Thus, I will just let the pictures do the blogging.

Met many familiar faces, including Thomas and his family. Glad that Susie and Edmund had enjoyed the show. This was also the first time my mum got to take the seat in the first row. She’s really ecstatic.

Finally, I got to meet Terence, another Teochew Opera fanatic! And he’s younger than me… Muhahaha, there is still many youngsters out there who appreciate Teochew Opera

蕙姨饰演的高珍得知真相时的演出，实在是令人赞叹不已，观众应该是看得目瞪口呆吧。新天彩的锣鼓总是打得超级紧凑，台上的演员把人物刻划得那么传神，真是好戏不厌百回听。听完后，我又看VCD，可是这

 

19/8/2008

陈楚蕙 - 岳王剑， 潇湘秋雨，洛水仙姬，碧玉簪，错配姻缘I am so happy to have my idol, Tan Chor Hwee (陈楚蕙), performed for me on my birthday on 22 Mar 2009। Ha ha, what a mere coincidence! I found it so rewarding to have watched the afternoon’s performance। She appeared in many excerpts of the performance। In fact, that was the best show amongst the 3 performances I have watched.

I was busy making movie clips the whole morning.The afternoon’s performance commenced at 3 pm. When I was approaching Kreta Ayer Theatre, I met QiLing who also rushed there by taxi. As it was closed to the commencement of the performance, I decided not to visit the back stage.

Soon, the afternoon’s performance began. Amazing, Tan Chor Hwee dressed as a general and she sang a song for charity, 慈善事业播春光, in Teochew. Then, she acted in several折子戏 including 岳王剑, 潇湘秋雨, 洛水仙姬, 碧玉簪, 错配姻缘。

I liked 碧玉簪 ‘The Jade Hairpin’ very much. It was exactly the same segment as her black and white movie produced many decades ago. It was simply too wonderful to watch this segment of the show again.

太兴奋了，我的偶像陈楚蕙在我生日当天为我呈现经典潮剧，真是千载难逢的好就会。 哈哈，只能说是巧合。看了3月22日那场日场演出后，觉得很有满足感，因为这是我看过陈楚3场表演的最佳演出。

早上忙着制作短片，然后在两点出发，搭地铁去看戏也。到达了牛车水人民剧场，听到有人呼唤我的名字，原来是奇灵，他也是从家里搭德士赶来看戏。由于接近开场时间，我没到后台走一趟。

一开场，陈楚蕙就穿这将军的戏服，威风凛凛的唱出‘慈善事业播春光’。这首歌只有短短的两分多钟，就把戏迷的心玄紧紧地扣住了。 好一个陈楚蕙！接着，陈楚蕙也带来多部折子戏，有岳王剑, 潇湘秋雨, 洛水仙姬, 碧玉簪, 错配姻缘，实在好看。

陈楚蕙 - 岳王剑， 潇湘秋雨，洛水仙姬，碧玉簪，错配姻缘I am so happy to have my idol, Tan Chor Hwee (陈楚蕙), performed for me on my birthday on 22 Mar 2009। Ha ha, what a mere coincidence! I found it so rewarding to have watched the afternoon’s performance। She appeared in many excerpts of the performance। In fact, that was the best show amongst the 3 performances I have watched.

I was busy making movie clips the whole morning.The afternoon’s performance commenced at 3 pm. When I was approaching Kreta Ayer Theatre, I met QiLing who also rushed there by taxi. As it was closed to the commencement of the performance, I decided not to visit the back stage.

Soon, the afternoon’s performance began. Amazing, Tan Chor Hwee dressed as a general and she sang a song for charity, 慈善事业播春光, in Teochew. Then, she acted in several折子戏 including 岳王剑, 潇湘秋雨, 洛水仙姬, 碧玉簪, 错配姻缘。

I liked 碧玉簪 ‘The Jade Hairpin’ very much. It was exactly the same segment as her black and white movie produced many decades ago. It was simply too wonderful to watch this segment of the show again.

太兴奋了，我的偶像陈楚蕙在我生日当天为我呈现经典潮剧，真是千载难逢的好就会。 哈哈，只能说是巧合。看了3月22日那场日场演出后，觉得很有满足感，因为这是我看过陈楚3场表演的最佳演出。

早上忙着制作短片，然后在两点出发，搭地铁去看戏也。到达了牛车水人民剧场，听到有人呼唤我的名字，原来是奇灵，他也是从家里搭德士赶来看戏。由于接近开场时间，我没到后台走一趟。

一开场，陈楚蕙就穿这将军的戏服，威风凛凛的唱出‘慈善事业播春光’。这首歌只有短短的两分多钟，就把戏迷的心玄紧紧地扣住了。 好一个陈楚蕙！接着，陈楚蕙也带来多部折子戏，有岳王剑, 潇湘秋雨, 洛水仙姬, 碧玉簪, 错配姻缘，实在好看。

2009年与沈惠贞，林玉和余丽莉在新加坡演出陈楚蕙潮剧艺术演唱会

Below is a pciture of the extracted from the magazine featuring her performance in Singapore.
in   thailand  年都出 in   1996   and sata   2000   and  ear  si  nig