The popular boy band MIRROR’s sub-group “Eagle Squad,” featuring members Ian Chan, Stanley Yau, Jer Lau, and Tiger Yau, traded stadium lights for stagecraft this week, plunging into intensive Cantonese Opera training as part of the ViuTV variety show Four Mirrors Gone Wild. The sixth episode, airing Thursday evening, captured the quartet’s challenging and often comical attempts to master the intricate art at the West Kowloon Xiqu Centre.
The celebrities immersed themselves in the fundamentals of Cantonese opera, known for its demanding integration of singing, acting, stage movement, and acrobatics. Under the tutelage of Dr. Chung Chun-chun (Teacher Chung), Head of Xiqu at the venue, the four protégés navigated the “Four Skills and Five Methods” critical to the genre, focusing particularly on “Singing, Acting, Recitation, and Martial Arts”—the cheong, jo, nam, da—highlighting the complex coordination required.
Finding Roots in Traditional Art
For two of the members, the cultural exploration brought back unexpected childhood memories. Tiger Yau recalled exposure to the art form through his father and television broadcasts, noting, “My dad used to listen to it. I heard it through TV, but I’d never seen a live performance before.”
Jer Lau shared a similar familial connection, though it transcended language barriers. “My family loves opera, but they don’t speak Cantonese; it’s the dialect from my hometown of Shanwei,” he explained. This segment underscored the deep, often regional, roots of Chinese opera, even for a generation primarily focused on contemporary pop culture.
Following the basic instruction, the group split into two pairs to perform excerpts from the highly acclaimed opera The Peony Pavilion (specifically, the segment The Rendezvous). Stanley paired with Jer, taking the roles of the male (Sheng) and female (Dan) leads, respectively, while Ian and Tiger formed the second duo, showcasing the demanding roles.
Comedy and Concentration: The Actor’s Challenge
The ensuing performances highlighted the steep learning curve and the comedic friction of celebrity cross-training.
Stanley confessed to struggling maintain composure while watching his bandmate Jer portray the Dan role. “There’s so much to juggle—the singing, the movement, the acting,” he admitted. “I truly admire the professionals.” Jer echoed the sentiment, noting the difficulty of sustaining a cohesive performance: “It’s so hard! With just a little bit of theatrical element, you can lose focus and forget your lines.”
Ian and Tiger’s rehearsal was equally chaotic, marked by a memorable prop mishap. Tiger, overly focused on his opening line, completely missed the cue to take a prop cup from Ian. This blunder immediately broke Ian’s concentration, triggering laughter throughout the set. Ian later playfully confronted his partner: “Cooperation and synergy are essential. We were better in rehearsals! What were you thinking about at the beginning? Why didn’t you take the cup?”
Tiger defended his momentary lapse, sheepishly admitting, “I was intensely focused on how I was going to deliver [the first line].”
The Rigors of Opera Training
The experience left a lasting impression on the stars regarding the sheer dedication required for traditional opera. Ian concluded that true mastery could only be achieved through sustained effort.
“The movements, the gestures, the essence, and the expressions we learned today truly require years of continuous practice and accumulation,” Ian stated, emphasizing that unlike pop performance, these skills demand long-term immersion.
Tiger emphasized the intense holistic demands placed on opera performers: “I think the requirements for the actor are extremely high—for voice, acting, and physical movements. You have to be totally concentrated. But I have to say, it was quite fun!”
The segment successfully bridged the gap between modern stardom and classic artistry, demonstrating the fundamental challenges that underpin one of China’s most important cultural heritage forms while offering high entertainment value. For viewers, the episode served as a fun, yet illuminating, introduction to the complex beauty and deep commitment inherent in Cantonese Opera.
