Forbidden Love unto Death and Metamorphosis: Tragic Heroines from an Interplay between Celtic and Chinese Myths, and the Representation of Opera

For its subjects, opera draws inspiration from various sources of cultural heritage, including myths and legends passed down through history. In this chapter, the complex interplay between Celtic myths and their corresponding operatic representations is compared with that between Chinese myths and their representations in Cantonese opera, with a particular focus on the involvement in these links of expressive folk-art traditions. The notion of love is a common theme that permeates the narrative spectrum of these myths and cannot be excluded from their operatic representations. In examining the mythological implications of this major theme in both Western and Cantonese opera, this chapter considers the two subthemes of “forever young in love” and “supernatural love through metamorphosis” with cross-references to the representation of these themes in myth and legend (Eastern and Western) and opera. Specifically, it focuses on the interplay of the “forever young in love” theme in myth and opera, through a comparative analysis of the Celtic legend Deirdre of the Sorrows and Chinese The Butterfly Lovers (Loutai hui 樓台會); the interwoven relationship of Celtic myth and Cantonese opera with the theme “supernatural love through metamorphosis,” through a comparative analysis of the Celtic myth Aengus and Caer and the Chinese opera The Legend of the White Snake (Baishe zhuan 白蛇傳). A further focus is on the narrative portrayal of tragic heroines who are victimized by men’s desires and suffer from social bondage, although different scenarios are presented in Western and Chinese cultural traditions.