“We are in the year 2057. It is also the centenary year of the premiere of The Story of the Purple Hairpin in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra is holding its first ever concert at the outdoor concert hall venue of Chinese Space Station on Mars. Cantonese Opera music, the genre that is considered the most representative of the DNA in Cantonese culture, is chosen for performance to mark the occasion.”

In ‘The Stage Door on Mars’, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra combines the latest stage projection mapping techniques with an eclectic mix of music types – from traditional Cantonese music to Broadway, rock, and many more – to recreate scenes of romantic love extracted from Cantonese Opera classics right before the audience's eyes, and guide them through the many memorable scenes passed down from the Cantonese Opera stage to the present, spanning one hundred years.

The story timeline and the settings:

2047 – at the glass concert hall of the space station on the moon – Death of the Princess from Princess Changping (Moon Premiere)

1962 – at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong City Hall – The Farewell from Romance of the Phoenix Chamber (Earth Premiere)

1972 – at a television disaster-relief charity programme – Red Candle’s Tears (excerpt) and Consoling His Wife from Why Won't Thou Return?

1959 – at Lee Theatre – The Chance Meeting When Plucking the Prunus from The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom (Earth Premiere)

1977 – at bamboo-shed theatre of Shek Kip Mei – The Toll of the Temple Bells and The Dragon Teases the Phoenix (excerpt)

1977 – at the Opening Concert of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra at the 2nd Festival of Asian Arts at the Hong Kong City Hall – Cantonese Tune Medley

2057 – at Chinese Space Station on Mars – Reunion of the Sword and the Hairpin from The Story of the Purple Hairpin (Mars Premiere and centenary celebration of Earth Premiere)

Artistic Director and Conductor: Yan Huichang
Original music, produced, dramaturgy and curated by Ng King-pan
Creative Director (Scenography): Carmen Cheng
Lighting Design and Technical Director: Mak Kwok-fai
Vocal performance of Cantonese Operatic Arias: Man Wah and Leung Fei-tung
Percussion Leader: Wong Yat-yin