Listen to ‘Mila’, Listen to the Hong Kong's Social Soundscape on the Contemporary Opera Stage (Review)

Abstract

The creation and performance of contemporary opera in the 21st century reflect the main ideas of contemporary humanistic trend of thought. Contemporary opera is increasingly deepening in international cooperation, cross- cultural artistic expression, global exploration of local social issues, and artists' social participation. Today is a new humanistic era for contemporary opera and other art forms. The artistic and humanistic languages of different nationalities and cultures communicate and dialogue on more diverse artistic platforms. Therefore, the creation of realistic opera which reflects the diversity of Chinese humanistic values and the real development of Chinese society is particularly important today. The creation and performance of contemporary opera in Hong Kong is also a representative of the development of Chinese opera with remarkable regional characteristics. Taking ‘Mila’’, an opera commissioned by the Asia Society Hong Kong Center, as an example, this article analyzes the realistic librettural themes, the music composition of contemporary scenes, and the dramatic presentation of life materials in the work, so as to discover Hong Kong's social sound landscape on the contemporary opera stage.