"Prince Consort Ladygirl". Keble O'Reilly.
Even before the first notes are sung, everything about Prince Consort Ladygirl bespeaks erudition. It’s an opera, a Chinese opera no less - possibly the first ever to be performed by Oxford students. In fact it’s a Huangmei opera, a particular genre rooted in folk songs and traditions of that region. Huangmei operas grew in popularity over the last 200 years, and this one (normally going by the slightly less trans-leaning title Female Consort Prince ) is one of the most enduring and popular. As well as being regularly revived on stage, it’s been made into films and mangas. And now director and co-translator William Want has made it into an Oxford operetta. I’m guessing that Want is a student of Chinese. From his fascinating, self-effacing mini-dissertation in the programme, to the presence, in the on-stage musical ensemble, of traditional instruments like the erhu , the dizi , the bangu and the yangqin , a deep knowledge and love of Chinese culture suffuse every facet of this show. I...