Songs of a Wayfarer - Adeline Wong's 'Longing'

The stage is dark and an alien hum fills the air, like that of a spaceship coming in for landing. A lady drags her seemingly leaden suitcase across the stage, and a monolithic image resembling some sort of great gate, appears on the backdrop screen. Slowly a row of music stands is revealed, like runway lights. Five musicians wander through the darkness, searching for their places. And when they are finally seated, we arrive at the beginnings of one of the most remarkable compositions of this year.   This is Adeline Wong’s latest opus,…