QUEENSLAND, Australia -- Each August, ghosts who have no descendants pour through the Gates of Hell into the streets of cities and villages of Southeast Asia. During the full moon, the most dangerous time of the year, the earth teems with hordes of these creatures, lusting for ribald entertainment and free food.
Hoping not only to satisfy their marauding spectral visitors -- in every way "the guests from hell" -- but also to ensure their own safety for another year, local Chinese communities annually band together to present elaborate street entertainment and banquets.
A new Australian chamber opera based on these Chinese traditions is making its Asian debut at Saitama Arts Foundation Nov. 2-4. Created by a composer of Brunei-Chinese heritage, a designer of Polish lineage, a director of Czech ancestry and performed by a mix of Australians from both European and Asian backgrounds, "Yue Ling Jie (Moon Spirit Feasting)" could almost be a metaphor for contemporary multicultural Australia.