Love Is Eternal

雪狼湖 Snow · Wolf · Lake

1997

My first visit was when the Cantonese production was touring Singapore.

I busted my pocket, and bought a ticket. I believe it cost S$140. It was the best I could afford. I ended up somewhere in a terrace seat; definitely not the finest in the house.

It was my first time watching Jacky Cheung (張學友) live. I was a terribly excited fanboy. I listened to the soundtrack over and over before going, and knew most of the songs.

Sure, I didn't understand most of the Cantonese dialogue, but it didn't matter. To me they were just short breaks between songs. I didn't care about the plot either (which I could only somewhat follow, since I didn't know the language), I just wanted the music. And boy, did I get the music.

I expected Jacky to be excellent, and he was. But someone else completely blew me away, and ended up stealing his thunder for that night - at least in my eyes.

That someone else was Kit Chan (陳潔儀), Singapore born and bred singer and artiste extraordinaire. She had the audience eating out of her hand. Every line, every note was so perfectly pitched and exuded just the right amount of vulnerability and tenderness. When she laughed, you shed tears of joy. When she cried, you were devastated. Even her soundtrack recording wasn't as moving. With each line she tugged at my heart, and I loved her for it.

At curtain call, she appeared. The entire Indoor Stadium leapt to their feet in a standing ovation. We were overwhelmed with nationalistic pride (dammit, I know, I'm supposed to be cynical) - here was someone who had made it, who had done us proud, and we loved her. Of course, this is not to put down Dick Lee. After all, he did write about half the music. But here was someone we could see with our own eyes.

The cheers were louder for Jacky, obviously, but that was to be expected. He was the star, after all.

I went home with music in my heart. I listened to the soundtrack over and over again. Through the next eight years, I revisited it countless times.


2005

My next visit was last Saturday.



The production had been translated into Mandarin. Jacky still played the lead. But this time, eVonne Hsu (許慧欣) had taken over the role played by Nnadia Chan (陳松伶) previously, and Nnadia herself was taking over Kit's role.

I had doubts about eVonne. Someone who spelt her name that way didn't deserve to be taken seriously. And I was bummed Kit wasn't going to do it anymore. But I was so eager to see Jacky perform again, I bought tickets the day they opened for pre-sale, without even knowing the full cast. Who cares, right? As long as Jacky's still there.

On a side note, I missed the last two times he performed in Singapore. In 1999, I'd bought a ticket to his concert (used a whole month's recruit pay from NS too), but fell terribly sick and slept right through the concert's duration. Then when he came in 2002, I was in Chicago. Third time lucky, I suppose. Back to the topic.

This time there was no feverish excitement. This time was more along the lines of "I hope it's as good as the last time". But guess what? I found more to pick on. I'll get this over quickly, because I don't like putting down things I fundamentally like.

I understood the dialogue this time since it was in Mandarin, but therein lay a problem: I also realized how shitty the dialogue was, and how ludicrous certain aspects of the script was. The translation into Mandarin, while commendable, still somehow fell short of the "feeling" the original gave. I know, it's really nitpicky, and I can't even put it in words; it just didn't feel right.

Nnadia tried her best, and I heard she was nursing a foot injury, so I can't fault her too much. Granted, her singing was good, and I did feel for her character, but somehow she just couldn't plumb the depths of emotion in her voice as well as Kit can. It's not that Nnadia is bad, it's just that Kit is so unbelievably fucking good. Whenever I heard Nnadia sing, in my mind it was Kit, and she was doing it better. Unfortunately this wasn't very fair to Nnadia at all...

Some of the ensemble were just plain annoying. Why is it when Chinese people act they have to put on these ridiculous high-pitched voices? The actress playing the Mother did, and so did the Wolf. I hate that. But their singing was fine.

eVonne though, I was surprised by. I hadn't even heard of her before this, but I thought she really handled herself like a pro, and delivered a good performance.

But you know what, these are just details. We all knew what we were really there for.

The crowd sat in anticipation. The curtain rose. Jacky opened his mouth, and everyone sat rapt with attention. We hung onto his every line, his every note, his every breath. When he was onstage all eyes were on him. He was God. He had deigned to appear in front of us mere mortals and bless us with his presence and his Voice, and we trembled before him.

(I can't even imagine how he's ever going to find a replacement for his role. No one, but no one, will be able to step confidently into those shoes)



The curtain call: The cast appeared, resplendent in their costumes, basking in the applause. The leads came out, one by one. A few people gave them standing ovations. A few, but not that many.

Then he stepped forth.

And as one, the entire congregation rose to their feet, screaming, clapping, cheering like madmen. For we were a congregation, here to worship at his altar. Whatever he said, we lapped up, and cheered all the louder. For tonight, we had all been touched by his glory.

Tonight, we had shared an evening with Jacky Cheung.

The curtain fell.

We dispersed into the night, but in our hearts, the refrain still sang.

愛是永恆 當所愛是你
Love is eternal, when that love is you.