“Labyrinth of Tears" A Horror-Anime Opera

“A Manic Ride Through Lollipop Hell” for solo piano by Alice Ping Yee Ho

“A Manic Ride Through Lollipop Hell” is exactly as the title suggests - cute and horrific. 

This piano suite is by the Canadian Chinese Composer Alice Ping Yee Ho, and draws from an opera that I wrote the story and libretto for “Labyrinth of Tears.” The opera follows the adventures of five magic school girls, “The Flower Club”, who enter into the mind, aka the “Labyrinth” of one of their friends, Kansa Nightingale, to save her from a coma. 

Within this world, you can imagine a kaleidoscopic universe of bizarre, uncanny, adorably terrifying characters  - from creepy animated sofas and singing rag dolls to unnervingly bewitching woman-child marionettes.

Ultimately, however, this is a story about the beautifully complicated nature of love and friendship. The girls want to understand and help their friend, but they run into the paradoxes of this age-old question:
How do we love?

How do we love someone who might not be wanting or receptive of that love. When are good intentions not enough? When is love a burden?

Some of my favourite musical numbers explore these universal themes, like “Understanding is (un)Happiness” and “To Love makes one Solitary”.

The middle movement, “A Sad Lullaby”, is from an especially touching moment when one of the girls sings to Kansa to calm her down from a panic attack, reminding her of the simple ritual they repeat together to find courage - the ritual of tracing the Chinese character for ‘human’ (Rén) three times in her own palm. “Human. Human. Human. I see you. I hear you. I feel you.” Something that grounds us. A touch. A sound. A connection with ourselves. With the present reality. I think it’s a reminder for us all. To repeat something that gives us courage. Something simple. Something tangible yet magical. Finding courage to trust, to love, to hurt, and to live again.

Here are some the libretto excerpts from Labyrinth of Tears. 

 “To love, makes one solitary”

Kansa
To love, makes one solitary.
To love, makes one strange.

I was not that girl
Worthy of your love.
The more i was loved,
The more i hated myself
“Why could i not just be happy?”
The more i was loved,
The lonelier and stranger i became.

To love, makes one solitary.
To love, makes one strange.

Updates: here are two excerpts from the opera composed by Chinese-Canadian composer Alice Ho.

I am extremely excited, honoured, and privileged to share this dream project that has received the generous support from both the Canada Council for the Arts ‘Research to Creation’ Grant and Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et culture (FRQSC) Doctoral Research Scholarship.

“Labyrinth of Tears”

“<3 A manic ride through lollipop hell xD ”

“Kansa Nightingale.” Art by Alyssa Bangalisan.

“Labyrinth of Tears” is an original storyline from the Zenkora Universe that follows the adventures of The Flower Club, five wizardry schoolgirls from the prestigious New Verdecas Academy of Magical Arts. Four of the girls journey into the mind Labyrinth of their friend, Kansa Nightingale, in an attempt to rescue her from a deep, mysterious coma. Inside the ‘Labyrinth of Tears’, they discover the fantastical and absurd horrors of Kansa’s inner world, and must work together to solve the puzzles of the three peculiar identities guarding the Labyrinth - the Assassin, the Courtesan, and the Child. But more than just overcoming the trials, they must learn how to navigate and embrace the vulnerabilities, confusion, and paradoxes on this strange path to understanding love, friendship, and happiness.

Research Proposal

"The Twofold Power of Cuteness in Kawaii Metal, Lo-Fi, and Classical Music” is a research-creation project built on my previous investigation of the “cute” aesthetic in Studio Ghibli’s animation music. More than providing a historiographic survey of cute music, my project aims to better appreciate cuteness as an important aesthetic category that can be enriching to our broader cultural values, allowing for its application to future studies and artistic creation. The creation proponent of my research will apply my theoretical understanding of musical “cuteness” to a new composition and performance. I will collaborate with composer Michael Kim-Sheng to co-create the multi-genre work, “Labyrinth of Tears”. Our project will present a musical storytelling of the twofold power of cuteness by combining the forms of operetta and triple-piano concerto and synthesizing the distinctive styles of Kawaii metal, Lo-Fi, animation, and classical music.

Full proposal here —> Read More.

Je tiens à remercier les Fonds de recherche du Québec @fondsrecherchequebec de soutenir ma carrière en recherche. C’est un honneur de faire partie de la #communautéFRQ et de participer à l’avancement de la recherche au Québec et à l’étranger. Joignez votre voix à la mienne et propulsons ensemble la recherche > https://www.communautefrq.ca

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

About Canada Council for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic excellence through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations. Its work ensures that excellent, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages Canadians, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities. It is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO in Canada to contribute to a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. The Canada Council Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts.