I won't have to play Arvo Pärt's Spiegel am Spiegel after all. Huang Yi's has used this famous work for Whisper a piece he created five years ago and garnered him lots of prizes in Taiwan and internationally. I suggested that it could be nice to have it played live instead of using a CD since all the music from Double Yellow Line is also played live. We decided to give it a try. But it quickly appeared that Huang Yi got so used to all the little details of one particular recording that he couldn't adapt to any other version, much less a piano solo version sans violin. I was disappointed, naturally, but had to bow down.
Since I was sitting at my piano when we would rehearse Whisper, I could not see much of the dance. But today, I was standing on the aisle and could see it and enjoy it. It's a beautiful and extremely moving piece (which fills me with even more regret not to play it) and I saw something that I had not seen until now: the love the two boys share for each other. They radiated it as they were dancing it and fooling around - it was a rehearsal, so they didn't do everything seriously. The sight really touched me. However, an uneasiness started to seize me. Whisper was originally intended as an encore for Double Yellow Line. I thought they would dance the piece immediately after it, but learned that the stage would need to be cleared - which will require a good ten minutes. My major concern was that Whisper might overshadow Double Yellow Lines. Huang Yi and Hu Chien have that piece under their skin. It's strong and powerful. And the audience is most likely to remember it more than the rest of the show.
I truly hope to be proven wrong...
I left the theatre in low spirit.
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