Silhouettes of Passion's
Master-mistress

Giving shape to desire once erased.

The vocal-chamber recital is anchored by Lance's setting of two cycles of six sonnets — respectively by William Shakespeare and Hong Kong-born poet Eric Yip, winner of the 2021 National Poetry Competition — exploring queer life and gender identity through the lenses of different zeitgeists and cultural backgrounds, brought to life by countertenor Keith Pun's gender-defying voice and Resonance Frontier.

'Passion's master-mistress' was the closest depiction Shakespeare could come up with for the fair youth, whose beauty defied gender norms and kindled the poet's perilous-for-the-era affections and desires, well expressed in his sonnets. While we now celebrate queerness with pride, many before us went down in history as vague silhouettes, leaving only traces for us to uncover their struggles and fight for identity.

Programme

Lance Mok: Songs to the Fair Youth: 6 Songs on Fluidity, Op. 20

1. Sonnet 108

2. Sonnet 121

3. Romance

4. Sonnet 40

5. Sonnet 41

6. Sonnet 42

7. Metamorphosis

8. Sonnet 20

Angela Morley: Valse bleue (2004)

Benjamin Britten (arr. Lance Mok): Final tableau from Death in Venice (1973, 2024)