Just call me Todderico Wongiovanni.   I felt very Italian attending the Vancouver Opera’s Don Giovanni opera on March 1st.  Mozart is always very accessible, and I have always remembered the Commendatore Scene from both the play and movie Amadeus.  “Don Giovanni” – the ghost of the commendatore sings… in baritone.

This story is based on the womanizing character of Don Juan/Don Giovanni, performed on different nights by Daniel Okulitch and Brett Polegato.  On Opening night Okulitch was a perfect rake, playing women against each other, lying with deceit, and masterminding his selfish games for his own purpose.

The other principal roles of Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, as well as the Commendatore (Donna Anna’s father) are also all played by double performers.  On opening night Erin Wall and Krisztina Szabo were brilliant in their seductions and seductee roles.

The highlight of this opera is the set design with multiple projections that easily and quickly tranform a castle ballroom into an outside street scene and back again.  The creative figures of statues and use of angles give an imaginative depth of field.

Inventive was also the use of a walkway surrounding the orchestra pit, that allowed the performers to come closer to the audience and give more room for staging.  It really felt more intimate with the four lead singers standing so close to the audience and singing, However, the orchestra seemed more muffled, and less brilliant in sound quality.

For the last decade, we have expected and received nothing less than perfection from Vancouver Opera.  This production is the first exception. The singers and orchestra were grand, of course, but the staging left a lot to be desired.  Having the stage extend out into the audience and around the orchestra pit created the difficulty of having the singers have to project even farther over the pit and stage. This created some balance problems where the singers were hard to hear, and the orchestra sounded small and muted. The Opera has been experimenting recently with “audience engagement.” They have brought in performers before the shows to mingle with the audience, and have a photographer at the entrance for guests to create a souvenir of the evening, and for the Opera to use in future promotions and on social media. Look at us, were having a great night out!

The images were spectacular, but could also be distracting. A night out at the opera is always an evening to be celebrated.  The roles were well cast, and the story, while long, did not drag. VO is to becongratulated for the exceptional quality of the shows, and their attempts to stay modern and relevant in the 21st century.  I truly appreciate the way they are reaching out to new audiences and taking chances on commissions and unusual programming.

 

• Victoria Poet Laureate Janet Marie Roger, who is also of Mohawk ancestry – just like Pauline Johnson, and will perform her own spoken word poetry as well as work by Pauline Johnson. 
• Chinese-Canadian author Janie Chang will bring us a special story.  Her new novel Three Souls is #2 on the Asian-American best sellers list in the USA, right behind Amy Tan.
• Celtic storyteller Mary Gavan will regale us with amazing stories of Celtic songs and Robert Burns.
• Silk Road Music Ensemble, led by Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault will bring their mix of the traditional Chinese, Celtic and world music.  They were featured in the 2004 tv performance special “Gung Haggis Fat Choy”
• Amy Stephen, celtic accordionist with Mad Pudding and Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, will also bring her magic fingers and songs.
• Kwantlen First Nations artist Brandon Gabriel, also brings his Chinese and Scottish ancestry into his contemporary artistic life.  He will read a poem from his great great grandfather, one of the first First Nations poets.
• Co-hosts are Chirish sibilings of Chinese and Irish ancestry, broadcaster Margaret Gallagher and actor Patrick Gallagher.
• Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipes & Drums will bring their unique fusion and musical surprises!

I am descended from horses. My mother’s maiden name is Mar. My maternal grandfather was Sunny Mar, who paid the Chinese Head Tax, prior to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_%28surname%29

Happy Robbie Burns Day Eve… Join me tomorrow for the Burns Poetry Marathon Reading… 11am at the Burns Statue in Stanley Park with bagpiper Thomas Budd

Then at 12pm at SFU Downtown – where we will Rap the Address to the Haggis!

You can register to read a Burns Poem and join the fun:

http://www.scottish.sfu.ca/sfus_robert_burns_marathon

We did the inaugural Burns Marathon reading two years ago in 2012 – Here is my blog story http://www.gunghaggis.com/2012/01/26/marathon-poetry-reading-of-robbie-burns-poetry-sfu-harbour-centre/

ANNOUNCEMENT – Dinner Post-poned to March 16th
Floata Restaurant, #400 – 180 Keefer St.
details to be confirmed.

Sorry to inconvenience everybody – but logistics and health have forced this difficult decision.

It is St. Patrick’s Day Weekend – so we will be inclusive of Irish, Chinese, Scottish and First Nations cultures for a reinvigorated Gung Haggis Fat Choy that will celebrate our province’s pioneer history and the cultural fusion of today’s diversity.

I will follow up with our guests – and we will have something special for your patronage and support.

- Tickets available online at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gung-haggis-fat-choy-2014-tickets-9215956173

Cheers, Todd

Every year we switch up some of the dishes for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner 

We pay attention to what we ate last year, what fits with the performance themes.  January 31, will welcome the Year of the Horse – and NO – we will not have horse meat.  But Horses will fit into the literary theme…  How about some Beef?

Half the dishes are vegetarian including: turnip cake appetizer, vegetarian hot and sour soup, lettuce wrap, buddha’s feast + efu long life noodles.  Meat dishes will be fish, chicken and a beef dish, + traditional haggis.  Our specialty appetizer items are deep-fried haggis & shrimp won ton, and haggis & pork su-mei dumplings… but we are considering bringing back spring rolls in place of the bbq pork.

This is the appetizer platter: Spicy jellyfish (center), , Lo-Bak-Goh turnip cake (front), BBQ pork (right) and haggis & pork shu-mei dumplings (left).  Delicious!  My great-grandmother always used to make the turnip cakes for me – to this day, they are one of my favorite dim sum dishes!

Our famous Haggis & shrimp Wonton dumplings! Utterly tasty…. It is one of our mentor Jim Wong-Chu’s favorite items on the menu that he looks forward to tasting each year.  Last year, we had accordionist Lewis Kane, fresh from Scotland attend out taste-test dinner. We asked Lewis to try one… to see if a real Scottish person would eat it.  And… he LIKED it…. he said it was real good… and that they should do this in Scotland!  HA!  Score one for Canada!

Last year we had Winter Melon soup… would be a staple if winter melons grew in Scotland.  Sublime in flavour, delicately balanced with mushrooms, cucumbers, carrots and lots of other good things. But… for 2014, we will return to a traditional Hot & Sour Soup – because the word “Sour” is very similarly spelled to the word “soul” – and good soul food always feels filling… and we are featuring author Janie Chang, whose new book is titled “Three Souls” – so we will have a Hot and Sour Soul Soup.  Nice alliteration, eh?

Here is the best way to eat haggis…  take a spoonful of haggis and add it to the Chinese vegetarian lettuce wrap.  Very tasty – just like a hamburger without the bun.  Remember to put lots of Chinese Hoi-sin bbq sauce inside.

Last year we had Steamed salmon – flavoured with hot oil and ginger, and topped with chives and cilantro.  This was one of the original dishes that I had personally prepared at the original Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner backin 1998.  So mouth-watering good… it melts in your mouth.

Buddhist’s feast is a traditional New Year’s dish, with lots of vegetables and bamboo shoots and mushrooms and Chinese funghi.  We figured if we are making Chinese people eat haggis, the Scottish people can eat Chinese funghi.  Afterall… it is considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine.

This is traditional crispy skin chicken, served with shrimp chips.  They are always very tasty – and not greasy like American style deep-fried chicken from KFC and elsewhere.

E-fu noodles… these are lovely textured egg-based noodles, and also traditional at Chinese banquets.  Not the regular chow mein noodles many people associate with Chinese take-out.  This is one of my favorite dishes, and the long noodles symbolize good wishes for long life.

And then there is dessert…. need we say more than two words?  Mango pudding.

But please note – menu is subject to change… as availability and freshness is important to us.

The dinner event WAS originally set for Sunday January 26th – but NOW POSTPONED to Sunday March 16th, 2014

- Tickets available online at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gung-haggis-fat-choy-2014-tickets-9215956173

17th Annual GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY
Robbie Burns Chinese New Year
- Celebrating Year of the Horse & featuring poetry of Robert Burns and Pauline Johnson

Floata Restuarant - #400 – 180 Keefer St.
Vancouver Chinatown (Free Parking) $65 per Seat
$55 for Students with ID
$35 for Children 13 and under
$650 for table of 10 includes complimentary wine for your table

Chinese Banquet dinner featuring our haggis won-ton specialty

- Lots of poetry, music, food and fun
- Special theme of Chinese and Scottish Ghost stories
- Featuring: Silk Road Music Ensemble, Gung Haggis Pipe Band, Storyteller Mary Gavan, author Janie Chang and more special guests, raffle prizes and silent auction

Please note:
- Ticket Sales End March 15th
- No “Walk up – day of sales”

Black Bear Rebels performed at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens for the 20th Anniversary of the Winter Solstice Lantern Festival.  I have always loved the Winter Solstice Festival, and have visited the sites at Roundhouse Community Centre, Granville Island and Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens and Park.  In 2008, I met creator of the festival, Naomi Singer, at the BC Community Achievement Awards, and we vowed that we would find ways to support and participate in each other’s events.

– photo Caroline Ng

Our 2013 line up consisted of Allan McMordie (small bagpipes), Mike Gigliotti (guitar), Russ Ericson (guitar), Todd Wong (accordion), Mary Gavan (story teller).

Mary is also going to be a featured performer at the 2014 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner on January 26th.  I have known her for many years, since when she first invited me to come tell stories and play accordion at events for the Vancouver Storytelling Society.

Here is the website for Secret Lantern Festival Society’s Winter Solstice Lantern Festival

http://www.secretlantern.org/events_sc.html

literASIAN 2013 just wrapped up – friends, family, authors, all joined together to celebrate the accomplishments of Asian Canadian writing.

Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW) originated as a group of writers who wanted to get published. Together they read and critiqued each others’ work in honing their craft.

In 1996, a few from the group decided to register as a society and become a formal organization where they could obtain grants to help with author readings, writing workshops, and eventually a newsletter (that became Ricepaper Magazine).

By 1999, the group created the Emerging Writers’ Award, which awarded the best unpublished manuscript with the opportunity to be published with an established publisher. A decade later, the evolution of the literASIAN became a reality.