If you know Cinderella, you know Ye Xian. Predating the European fairy tale, the Chinese folk story follows a path familiar to many in search of a place to belong.
Combining contemporary music, folk traditions and the lived experiences of British-Chinese communities, composer Alex Ho presents an intimate reflection on Ye Xian’s journey between and beyond different cultures.
He pays homage to the beautiful complexities of diasporic identity, weaving together an intricate tapestry of sounds, memories and dreams, imagining a more hopeful future for Ye Xian and those who come after.
Supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council, this performance is a new adaptation of Untold, a music theatre piece co-conceived by Alex Ho and Southbank Artist-in-Residence Julia Cheng, produced by Muziektheater Transparent and Alex Ho as the winner of the FEDORA Opera Prize 2023, supported by The Silver Company.
Credits
Alex Ho composer, piano
Keith Pun countertenor
Ziyang Huang erhu
Daniel Shao flute
Beibei Wang percussion
Joanne Chiang percussion
Based on a concept by Alex Ho and Julia Cheng
Supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council
Winner of the UK Critics’ Circle Young Artist Award 2021, Alex Ho is a British-Chinese composer whose music and stage works have been described as ‘important and impressive’ (Opera Today). Ho is currently resident composer at Glyndebourne Opera and has had pieces performed/commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Radio 3, Royal Philharmonic Society and the Royal Opera House among many others.
Keith Pun is a versatile countertenor whose repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary works. In recent seasons he performed with companies such as Venezia Biennale, Festival Rotterdam, English Touring Opera, Beijing Music Festival and Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival. For concert performances he has performed as a soloist under the baton of John Butt, Jonathan Cohen and Matthew Halls.
Ziyang Huang is a leading figure in the new generation of erhu artists, redefining the instrument’s role on the global stage. She has performed in over 30 cities, won multiple international awards and served as an artist-in-residence at the Chinese Embassy. Beyond live performances, she has collaborated with Sony Music and Tate Modern, and recorded for CCTV. In Summer 2024, she released the single ‘Paganini 24 – Erhu Version’ and ‘Birds Singing in a Desolated Mountain’, further elevating the erhu’s presence in global music.
Daniel Shao is a British-Chinese flautist who regularly performs with national orchestras, chamber ensembles and as a soloist. He has appeared as guest principal with the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra. He won the Royal Over-Seas League Competition Wind Prize 2024, featured as a Classic FM Rising Star 2023 and has performed as a concerto soloist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Oxford Philharmonic, and Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
With a background in both classical and traditional Chinese percussion, Beibei Wang brings her characteristic ‘high energy virtuosity’ (Wall Street Journal) to performances of diverse repertoire. As a soloist, she has performed around the world with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic and the Boston Modern
Orchestra Project.
Joanne Chiang is a London-based Taiwanese percussionist whose performances focus on theatre and the performing arts. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), she achieved her long-term goal of performing in the London musical theatre Industry, being cast as the principal percussionist for the world premiere stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre.