Cantonese opera performances from Sing Fai Cantonese Opera Promotion Association
July 26-27, 2023
In a year marking the 14th anniversary of Cantonese Opera being inscribed onto UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Singapore ETO was delighted to greet a young troupe from Sing Fai Cantonese Opera Promotion Association, one of Hong Kong’s top academies in Cantonese opera, for a series of public performances and cultural exchange activity during its six-day stay in Singapore.
Led by the association’s founder Ms Fong Suet-ying and veteran Cantonese opera tutor Mr Yeung Kim-wah, the young budding performers aged between 5 and 16 first performed in a business dinner co-organised by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on July 24, which was part of the itinerary of the Chief Executive Mr John Lee as he led a high-level business delegation to visit three member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The business dinner was graced by the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Heng Swee Keat, and about 200 prominent guests from government, business, academic sectors of both Hong Kong and Singapore.
To promote Cantonese opera to the general public of Singapore, the troupe staged two public performances at Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre on July 26 and 27. Presenting a tapestry of time-honoured excerpts of Chinese classics featuring different characters from wartime generals, lovers in separation to folklore deities, their performances had drawn rounds of applause from close to 900 audience each night. They also had a fruitful cultural exchange session with Nam Hwa Opera on July 28. Founded in 1963, Nam Hwa Opera aimed to preserve and promote traditional Teochew heritage in arts and culture.
In a unique collaboration, 5 young musicians from Hong Kong and Singapore teamed up to co-create Cantonese opera music for the two public performances in an attempt to rejuvenate the genre. They are Yeung Kin-ping and Matt Tam from Hong Kong, and erhu player Calista Liaw, cellist Junsian Chee, yangqin player Tan Jie Qing from Singapore. The collaboration is a successful showcase of the longstanding friendship between the two cities, while demonstrating Hong Kong’s role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange that helps Chinese culture go global.
Highlight video of the group's Singapore tour: Youtube Link
Chief Executive Mr John Lee’s meet-up with the young performers in the backstage of the business dinner: Facebook Link | Facebook Reel
Program booklet of the public performances at at Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre: Click here
Synopses of the Chinese classics excerpts performances at Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre: Click here
