AS CLEAR AS MOONLIGHT: BASKING IN THE MANY TALENTS OF ORA XIYUE
By Carolyn Oei, 24 November 2021
Cover image of Ora 晰月 courtesy of Regina Toon
I met Regina Toon in 2014. I produced and organised a location-based music and spoken word festival in Tiong Bahru, one of Singapore’s oldest residential estates, and Regina signed up as a volunteer.
We kept in touch and our worlds continued to converge every now and again through other festivals. I was always happy to catch up with her; Regina has a great vibe.
And here she is now, a singer who’s gearing up for a career in Mando-pop, which…I don’t know how many people actually saw this coming.
With the stage moniker, Ora 晰月 (pronounced “xi yue”), Regina’s star is on the up. She’s been placed as one of the 10 finalists in Season 1 of SingVoice. Being a finalist also means she has a single on the compilation album.
Here’s a quick Q&A with Regina to complement the listening pleasure:
M: Is that all you singing in 戏场？
RT: If you’re asking about the parts which are Chinese Opera influenced, yes all the female vocals are all me. The male vocals which appears are sung by 陈炯顺 Wilson Tan, the vocal producer for the song. Throughout the song, there are also backing vocals done by Lydia周翠玲.
[Editor’s note: 戏场 is Chinese for what can be understood to mean “stage”. The song’s lyrics suggest the pain and irritation of life being one big act.]
Regina Toon, 2015, Shanghai Theatre Academy. Photo courtesy of Regina Toon.
RT: In 2015, I took a month-long intensive Beijing Opera course at Shanghai Theatre Academy. Later in 2018, Beijing Opera was also part of the curriculum in Intercultural Theatre Institute, where I trained. And so I had the privilege to go deeper with it for a few more months. I definitely cannot call myself a Chinese Opera performer, but I adore this traditional form and want it to become more popular in the mainstream media. As such, I’ve decided to sing it for my first Mando-pop single.
M: What was your vision for the song? Did you collaborate with anyone on it?
RT: I think I am very influenced by Eastern Asian ideas of life and living, especially Tao philosophies. And so I wanted to feature Chinese Opera and traditional Chinese elements in a song which talked about the circle of life. Somehow, these lyrics and melody came into creation.
The arrangement was done by Sim Wei Liang. He is amazing. We discussed what we wanted it to feel like, what kind of sounds we wanted, and boom he gave me this epic arrangement. I loved it - when I heard what magic he did with the arrangement, I immediately saw full landscapes and dramatic images. These then influenced how I presented the song, and the emotions behind it.
M: What motivated you to actually send in your application to SingVoice?
RT: I am actually first an actor. I graduated from Intercultural Theatre Institute at the end of 2019, and before I could find a job, COVID hit. I was struggling for over a year and by the time I saw a sponsored ad for SingVoice, I was honestly desperate enough to jump at the opportunity to do something, anything, artistic-related. I think COVID really shook up my world, and pushed me to do things I otherwise would never have done.
But I am really glad that I did send in that application. Who would have known that I could come so far? It really opened new doors for me, and I am glad that I took that leap of faith.
M: What was the genesis and/or etymology of your stage name Ora 晰月？
RT: 晰月 is actually a name which I “calculated” using the Chinese name calculation system. Apparently it will bring me good luck and all that - I actually consulted a Feng Shui master to verify that this name will give me “better luck” than my original Chinese name. Haha. I had to find words which had the right number of strokes and were balanced in terms of their elements - it was a lot of hard work finding this name! And I had to take into account the sound and meaning of it as well. In the end I decided on these 2 words which simply mean “clear moon”.
I’d like to think of my public identity as one which can help shine light for others. Not aggressively or loudly, but gently and enduringly, like the moon. And to emphasise that it is a clear moon, and not one covered with mists or clouds, as I hope that this light can tide others through periods of darkness and bring clarity to their lives.
Ora, is similar in the sense that it also means light. But in addition to that, it also means prayer, and now, the present moment. I believe that the present moment is sacred, and this name is a reminder to myself to always live in the moment, and to go through life as though the whole of it is a prayer.
Photo of Ora晰月 by SingVoice