71-572: Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera , originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi , Hong Kong , Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia . Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing, martial arts , acrobatics , and acting. There is debate about
142-492: A concept as traditions is while monetary support is real. However, elders are not ombudspersons in any sense and they take public funds for their own reasons. That is, they are knee deep in commercial performances even as a member of the above organizations. A juren a century ago can be an adjunct associate professor now in Hong Kong. How business was conducted in a community by a juren was illustrated by Ma Sze Tsang in
213-516: A fight. Later in the film, the interaction between various multiverse versions of Evelyn result in the Chinese opera version botching and then salvaging a performance. Sunbeam Theatre Sunbeam Theatre ( Chinese : 新光戲院 ) is a landmark theatre in Hong Kong showcasing Cantonese opera . It is located at 423 King's Road , North Point , near the intersection with Shu Kuk Street. In
284-473: A film called the Big Thunderstorm (1954) . Trend-setting figure, Leung Hon-wai, talked on camera about his doctrine related to new titles he wrote and monetary backings from the various Hong Kong authorities. That is, art festivals provided him financial means, identity, advertising resources and opportunities not otherwise available. Curious audience makes good box-office for the only 2–3 shows of
355-420: A harmful message was conveyed or considered. The research conducted by Lo showed that Cantonese Operatic Singing also relates older people to a sense of collectivism, thereby contributing to the maintenance of interpersonal relationships and promoting successful ageing. (Lo, 2014). Young people construct the rituals of learning Cantonese opera as an important context for their personal development. Cantonese opera
426-564: A revival and continued to be a very popular form of entertainment, both on stage and television. In the 21st century, Chinese opera is seldom publicly staged except in formal Chinese opera houses. It may also be presented during the lunar seventh month Chinese Ghost Festival in Asia as a form of entertainment to the spirits and audience. More than thirty famous pieces of Kunqu opera continue to be performed today, including The Peony Pavilion , The Peach Blossom Fan , and adaptions of Journey to
497-523: A shopping mall. In March 2007, the smaller auditorium was rebuilt as a multi-purpose theatre for stage performances. The lease of the theatre, ended in February 2009. After much public debate about the possible closure of the theatre and discussions about alternative options, the lease with the operator of the Theatre was renewed for three years, while the landlord had made clear his plan to redevelop
568-419: A single new title. In addition, he only paid 50% to collect the new costumes in his possession for future performances of different titles. A Sit Kok Sin classic fetched HK$ 105,200 plus in 2015. The parents who had over 100 years of experience combined found sharing the stage with their son as not feasible without subsidies for Golden Will Chinese Opera Association and Wan Fai-yin, Christina. Time To Go Home
639-442: A sole proprietor in private sector built and operated this facility to provide performance venue, similar (in purpose) to the current Yau Ma Tei Theatre , in which upcoming artists could attain stage experience. Volunteers who managed this Amusement Park Theatre were veteran performer Chan Kam Tong [ zh ] with his wife and others. Work opportunities and incomes nurtured these young promising performers for years. This
710-528: A tiger that killed his father. In The Dancing Singing Woman (踏謡娘), which relates the story of a wife battered by her drunken husband, the song and dance drama was initially performed by a man dressed as a woman. The stories told of in these song-and-dance dramas are simple, but they are thought to be the earliest pieces of musical theatre in China, and the precursors to the more sophisticated later forms of Chinese opera. These forms of early drama were popular in
781-561: A woman performer under the alias Song Liling and enters a 20-year relationship with French civil servant René Gallimard. The latter is unaware that female roles in Peking opera are actually played by men due to women being barred from the stage. An update in January 2022 for the game Genshin Impact includes a story quest that features a musical number from the character Yun Jin that is in
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#1732776138739852-674: Is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years, reaching its mature form in the 13th century, during the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD). Early forms of Chinese theater are simple; however, over time, various art forms such as music, song and dance, martial arts, acrobatics, costume and make-up art, as well as literary art forms were incorporated to form traditional Chinese opera. Performers had to practice for many years to gain an understanding of
923-490: Is a kind of Operas of Deities. Operas for Deities are often performed in celebration of folk festivals, birthdays of deities, establishments or renovations of altars and temples. A community organises a performance of opera, which is used to celebrate the birth of the gods or to cooperate with the martial arts activities, such as "Entertaining People and Entertaining God" and "God and People". These performances can be called " Operas for Deities ". This king of acting originated from
994-417: Is a list of female Cantonese opera performers who are known for female leads ( Chinese : 文武全才旦后 ): hkmdb This is a list of female Cantonese opera performers who are known for her own female vocal styles ( 著名旦腔 ): Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera ( traditional Chinese : 戲曲 ; simplified Chinese : 戏曲 ; pinyin : xìqǔ ; Jyutping : hei3 kuk1 ), or Xiqu ,
1065-399: Is different from those Leung debuted at arts festivals since:- In 2019, Yuen Siu Fai talked on radio that he found the readily available funding made beneficiaries financially irresponsible, unlike himself and others who put their own money where their mouths were. Yuen, who works regularly for troupes with secure public funding, did not draw a link between his two roles. Contrary to Africa,
1136-410: Is divided into recitative and Beijing colloquial speech, the former employed by serious characters and the latter by young females and clowns. Character roles are strictly defined, and each character have their own elaborate make-up design. The traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1,000 works, mostly taken from historical novels about political and military struggles. At the turn of
1207-695: Is the Canjun Opera (參軍戲, or Adjutant Play) which originated from the Later Zhao Dynasty (319–351 AD). In its early form, it was a simple comic drama involving only two performers, where a corrupt officer, Canjun or the adjutant , was ridiculed by a jester named Grey Hawk (蒼鶻). The characters in Canjun Opera are thought to be the forerunners of the fixed role categories of later Chinese opera, particularly of its comic chou (丑) characters. Various song and dance dramas developed during
1278-401: The Chinese government founded newspaper platforms, such as Ta Kung Pao ( 大公報 ) and Chang Cheung Hua Pao ( 長城畫報 ) to promote Cantonese Opera to the Hong Kong audience. These new platforms were used to promote new Cantonese Opera releases. This helped to boost the popularity of Cantonese Opera among the Hong Kong audience. Gradually, Cantonese Opera became a part of daily entertainment activity in
1349-675: The Six Dynasties period. During the Northern Qi Dynasty, a masked dance called the Big Face (大面, which can mean "mask", alternatively daimian 代面, and it was also called The King of Lanling, 蘭陵王), was created in honour of Gao Changgong who went into battle wearing a mask. Another was called Botou (撥頭, also 缽頭), a masked dance drama from the Western Regions that tells the story of a grieving son who sought
1420-545: The Song dynasty (960–1279) and Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). Acts based on rhyming schemes and innovations such as specialized roles like Dan (旦, dàn, female), Sheng (生, shēng, male), Hua (花, huā, painted-face) and Chou (丑, chŏu, clown) were introduced into the opera. Although actors in theatrical performances of the Song Dynasty strictly adhered to speaking in Classical Chinese onstage, during
1491-616: The Tang dynasty where they further developed. For example, by the end of the Tang Dynasty the Canjun Opera had evolved into a performance with more complex plot and dramatic twists, and it involved at least four performers. The early form of Chinese theatre became more organized in the Tang dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712–755), who founded the " Pear Garden " (梨园/梨園; líyuán), the first academy of music to train musicians, dancers and actors. The performers formed what may be considered
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#17327761387391562-617: The Yuan Dynasty , with lyrics and scripts in Cantonese . Until the 20th century all the female roles were performed by males. In the 1840s, a large number of Guangdong businessmen came to Shanghai for opportunities. They owned abundant resources, therefore, their influence in Shanghai has gradually increased (Song, 1994). Later, various clansmen associations have been established to sponsor different cultural activities, Cantonese opera
1633-446: The culture and philosophies of the Chinese people can be seen in the plays. Virtues (like loyalty, love, patriotism and faithfulness) are often reflected by the operas. Some particular features of Cantonese opera are: The four skills and five methods are a simple codification of training areas that theatre performers must master and a metaphor for the most well-rounded and thoroughly-trained performers. The four skills apply to
1704-682: The entire village is responsible for raising the children of a certain crowd only. Both political and social guanxi is making or breaking the future of up-and-coming performers in the same way as whether Bak Yuk Tong is remembered as one of the Four Super Stars or not. According to Yuen, Bak is anti-communist and therefore his status is different in Mainland China (PRC). In 2019, Yuen Siu Fai said that old performers are to stay front and center on stage as long as they want to take center stage instead of sharing, let alone ceding,
1775-549: The 1940s, theater was well established in the Communist-controlled areas. In the early years of the People's Republic of China, development of Peking opera was encouraged; many new operas on historical and modern themes were written, and earlier operas continued to be performed. As a popular art form, opera has usually been the first of the arts to reflect changes in Chinese policy. In the mid-1950s, for example, it
1846-675: The 1950s, many of the Shanghainese emigrants moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong and settled in the North Point area. At the time Shanghai was known for its leftist revolutions, and many of the leftist supported businesses relocated to North Point. Aside from the China Products Department stores, the Sunbeam Theatre is one of the landmark theatres to have been started by that same group of emigrants. It
1917-543: The 20th century, Chinese students returning from abroad began to experiment with Western plays. Following the May Fourth Movement of 1919, a number of Western plays were staged in China, and Chinese playwrights began to imitate this form. The most notable of the new-style playwrights was Cao Yu (b. 1910). His major works— Thunderstorm , Sunrise , Wilderness , and Peking Man —written between 1934 and 1940, have been widely read in China. The Republican Era saw
1988-736: The Association and the Academy further conducted a two-year daytime diploma programme in performing arts in Cantonese Opera in order to train professional actors and actresses. Aiming at further raising the students' level, the Association and the Academy launched an advanced course in Cantonese opera in the next academic year. In recent years, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council has given grants to
2059-501: The Cantonese opera industry. There are two types of Cantonese opera plays: Mou (武, "martial arts") and Man (文, "highly educated", esp. in poetry and culture). Mou plays emphasize war, the characters usually being generals or warriors. These works contain action scenes and involve a lot of weaponry and armour. Man plays tend to be gentler and more elegant. Scholars are the main characters in these plays. Water sleeves are used extensively in man plays to produce movements reflecting
2130-911: The Chan tradition and making up records along the way. However, the Chan caliber of masters needed no directors. Two performers Chan worked with closely, who definitely left the stage at will with dignity, are Yam Kim Fai and Fong Yim Fun . They both openly rebuked (in 1969 and in 1987 respectively in no harsher way than what Lam Kar Sing and his wife did in 1983) individual off-springs who were under their wings briefly but officially. The popularity of Yam-Fong in Hong Kong continues to thrive notwithstanding their apparent lack of official successors as Loong Kim Sang and Lee Bo Ying picked up where they left off. Cantonese opera in Hong Kong rocketed around 1985/86, according to Li Jian, born Lai Po Yu , ( 黎鍵，原名黎保裕 ), an observer. De facto successors to master performers, Lee Bo Ying , Lam Kar Sing, and Loong Kim Sang all left
2201-834: The Chinese diaspora. Its popularity declined sharply in the second half of the 20th century as a result of both political and market factors. Language policies discouraging topolects in Taiwan and Singapore, official hostility against rural religious festivals in China, and de-Sinicization in Taiwan have all been blamed for the decline of various forms in different times, but overall the two major culprits were Cultural Revolution — which saw traditional culture systematically erased, innumerable theatre professionals viciously persecuted, and younger generation raised with far lesser exposure to Chinese opera – and modernization, with its immense social impact and imported values that Chinese opera has largely failed to counter. The total number of regional genres
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2272-690: The Hong Kong public to have more opportunities to enjoy Cantonese Opera. The scheme also arrived to develop professional talents in Cantonese Opera. Cantonese Opera became a part of the compulsory Music subject in primary school. For teachers, the Education Bureau provided some training and teaching materials related to Cantonese Opera. In the first decade of the Hong Kong Arts Festivals and the Festivals of Asian Arts, Cantonese opera performances contributed by those representing
2343-716: The Love and Faith Cantonese Opera Laboratory to conduct Cantonese opera classes for children and young people. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has also funded the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong Branch) to implement the "Cultural Envoy Scheme for Cantonese Opera" for promoting traditional Chinese productions in the community. Also, the Hong Kong Government planned to promote Cantonese Opera through different communication channels. They wanted to build more theatres for
2414-651: The Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. It was also called the sacred drama in the performance of God's birthday. It is a meritorious deed for God. According to the study, most of the Cantonese operas in Hong Kong belong to the Operas for Deities, and the nature of the preparations of the "God Circus" can be broadly divided into three categories: the celebration of the gods, the Hungry Ghost Festival,
2485-583: The Ming and early Qing dynasties was Kunqu , which originated in the Wu cultural area . A famous work in Kunqu is The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu . Kunqu later evolved into a longer form of play called chuanqi , which became one of the five melodies that made up Sichuan opera . Currently Chinese operas continue to exist in 368 different forms, the best known being Beijing opera , which assumed its present form in
2556-595: The Pipa which became highly popular, and became a model for Ming dynasty drama as it was the favorite opera of the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang . The presentation at this point resembled the Chinese opera of today, except that the librettos were then very long. The operatic artists were required to be skilled in many fields; according to Recollections of Tao An (陶庵夢憶) by Zhang Dai , performers had to learn how to play various musical instruments, singing and dancing before they were taught acting. The dominant form of
2627-664: The Southern Song. With the invasion of the Mongol army, Emperor Gong of the Song dynasty fled with hundreds of thousands of Song people into Guangdong in 1276. Among them were Nanxi performers from Zhejiang , who brought Nanxi into Guangdong and helped develop the opera traditions in the south. Many well-known operas performed today, such as Tai Nui Fa originated in the Ming Dynasty and The Purple Hairpin originated in
2698-480: The Taiping Qing Dynasty, the temple opening and the traditional festival celebrations. In the 1960s−1970s, the Chinese opera was at a low ebb. However, due to the support of Opera for Deities, some of the troupes can be continue to perform. In the 1990s, the total performance rate of Operas for Deities has been reduced from two-thirds to two-fifths in the 1980s, there is no such thing as a performance in
2769-596: The West , Romance of the Three Kingdoms . In 2001, Kunqu was recognized as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) Face paint plays a significant role in portraying the internal complexities of the performer's character with hundreds of combinations of colours and patterns. Below are some general meanings which may be further focused on extremely specific details depending on
2840-567: The Yuan Dynasty actors speaking or performing lyrics in the vernacular tongue became popular on stage. In the Yuan poetic drama, only one person sang for all of the four acts, but in the poetic dramas that developed from Nanxi during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), all the characters were able to sing and perform. Playwright Gao Ming late in the Yuan dynasty wrote an opera called Tale of
2911-546: The actors who came to perform in Shanghai were very famous. Every time many Cantonese merchants made reservations for inviting their guests to enjoy the opera".(Cheng, 2007) Beginning in the 1950s immigrants fled Shanghai to areas such as North Point . Their arrival significantly boosted the Cantonese opera fan-base. Also, the Chinese Government wanted to deliver the message of socialist revolution to Chinese people under colonial governance in Hong Kong . Agents of
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2982-518: The actors with sound, often waiting for vocal cues or physical signals such as the stomp of a foot. Traditionally, musicians often performed from memory – a feat made even more impressive considering pieces or sections of compositions were subject to infinite variations and often repeated. The orchestra utilized a pentatonic scale until a 7-note scale was introduced by Mongolia during the Yuan Dynasty . The two extra notes functioned similarly to accidentals within western notation . The instruments in
3053-635: The beginning of the Cultural Revolution . During the Cultural Revolution, most opera troupes were disbanded, performers and scriptwriters were persecuted, and all operas were banned except the eight "model operas" that had been sanctioned by Jiang Qing and her associates. Western-style plays were condemned as "dead drama" and "poisonous weeds", and were not performed. After the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976, Beijing Opera enjoyed
3124-649: The business environment was destroyed. Since then, the Teochew category disappeared in Hong Kong. Chan Kim-seng, the former chairperson of Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, saw similar threats towards Cantonese opera and fought tooth and nail for job security of members. Chan, Representative Inheritor of Cantonese opera in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, passed away on 19 August 2013. Cantonese opera shares many common characteristics with other Chinese theatre genres. Commentators often take pride in
3195-532: The colony. The popularity of a Cantonese Opera continued to grow during the 1960s. More theatres were established in Sheung Wan and Sai Wan, which became important entertainment districts. Later, performances began to be held in playgrounds, which provided more opportunities to develop Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong. As the variety of venues grew, so the variety of audiences became wider. However, Cantonese Opera began to decline as TV and cinema started to develop in
3266-681: The decades, Hong Kong's Sunbeam Theatre is one of the last facilities that is still standing to exhibit Cantonese Opera. By the early 1980s, Leung Hon-wai was one of the first in his generation of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong (hkbarwo) who gave classes and actively engaged in talent-hunting. The Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong classes started in 1980. To intensify education in Cantonese opera, they started to run an evening part-time certificate course in Cantonese Opera training with assistance from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1998. In 1999,
3337-956: The elegance and tenderness of the characters; all female characters wear them. In man plays, characters put a lot of effort into creating distinctive facial expressions and gestures to express their underlying emotions. There are four types of roles: Sang ( Sheng ), Daan ( Dan ), Zing ( Jing ), and Cau ( Chou ). The Sang ( 生 ; Sheng ) are male roles. As in other Chinese operas, there are different types of male roles, such as: The Daan (旦; Dan ) are female roles. The different forms of female characters are: The Zing (淨; Jing ) are known for painted-faces. They are often male characters such as heroes, generals, villains, gods, or demons. Painted-faces are usually: Some characters with painted-faces are: The Cau (丑; Chou ) are clownish figures. Some examples are: Major Cantonese Opera (Stage) Career Artists include: Political-economic crisis led to overall very hard time for Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong. Early 1960s,
3408-432: The facial location of the colour. The musical components of Chinese opera are created as an inseparable entity from voice and dance/movement. Both the musicians and the actors contribute to composing musical accompaniment. This collaborative process is reflected within the production by the immaculate synchronicity between the actors' movements and the sounds of the orchestra. The musicians are required to flawlessly support
3479-538: The first known opera troupe in China, and they performed mostly for the emperors' personal pleasure. To this day operatic professionals are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden" (梨园弟子 / 梨園弟子, líyuán dìzi). By the Song Dynasty, Canjun Opera had become a performance that involved singing and dancing, and led to the development of Zaju (雜劇). Forms such as the Zaju and Nanxi (南戏) further matured in
3550-450: The human voice backstage behind prop only when choir members were actually introduced to the audience at curtain call. Before widespread formal education, Cantonese opera taught morals and messages to its audiences rather than being solely entertainment. The government used theatre to promote the idea of be loyal to the emperor and love the country ( 忠君愛國 ). Thus, the government examined the theatre frequently and would ban any theatre if
3621-410: The idea that all Chinese theatre styles are similar but with minor variations on the pan-Chinese music-theatre tradition and the basic features or principles are consistent from one local performance form to another. Thus, music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting are all featured in Cantonese opera. Most of the plots are based on Chinese history and famous Chinese classics and myths . Also,
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#17327761387393692-417: The larger one converted from the stalls for stage performances. In 1993, Chung Sun Sing Opera Troupe had a season of 38 consecutive full-house shows at the Sunbeam Theatre, winning the theatre the title of "Hong Kong's Grand Palace for Cantonese Opera". The 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m ) property was acquired by Francis Law Sau-fai (羅守輝) in 2003 for HK$ 162 million. There were plans to transform it into
3763-581: The late 1960s. Compared to Cantonese Opera, cinema was cheaper and TV was more convenient. Subsequently, some theatres started to be repurposed as commercial or residential buildings. The resulting decline in available theatres further contributed to the decline of Cantonese Opera in the territory. Since the demolition of Lee Theatre and the closing down of many stages (Tai Ping Theatre, Ko Shing Theatre , Paladium Theatre, Astor Theatre or former Po Hing Theatre, Kai Tak Amusement Park and Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park ) that were dedicated to Cantonese genre throughout
3834-491: The limelight to the next or even younger generations. Yuen insists that performers without bags under their eyes could not be any good. In 2018, Law Kar Ying said Chan Kam Tong had already jumped the shark in the mid-1950s, more than ten years before Chan actually left the stage or more than 60 years for it to be confirmed to the public. The (Yuen, Law and others) generation with bags under their eyes picked up where Leung left off. By such, these old performers are upholding
3905-621: The lion share of the market, (well-established troupes, well-known performers Lang Chi Bak as well as Leung Sing Poh in their golden years or prominent performers in their prime) are:- Fung Wong-nui (1925–1992) Lam Kar Sing (1933–2015), bearer of the tradition handed down by Sit Gok Sin and owner of name brand/tradition (personal art over lucrative "for hire" careers in films or on stage) as well as volunteer tutor to two ( 1987, 2008) students handpicked right out of training schools Loong Kim Sang Obscure groups of experimental nature, let alone those late boomers without market value, were not on
3976-413: The map or in the mind of those organizing these events. That changed since the 40 something Leung Hon-wai found his way to the stepping stone or launching pad he desired for pet projects of various nature. To continue the tradition by passing on what elders and veterans inherited from former generations and to improve sustainability with new and original music, lyrics and scripts. Heritage is as abstract
4047-449: The mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the latter part of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). In Beijing opera, traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments provide a strong rhythmic accompaniment to the acting. The acting is based on allusion: gestures, footwork, and other body movements express such actions as riding a horse, rowing a boat, or opening a door. Spoken dialogue
4118-436: The music and topolect ; the stories are often shared and borrowed. With few exceptions (such as revolutionary operas and to some extent Shanghai operas ) the vast majority of Chinese operas (including Taiwanese operas ) are set in China before the 17th century, whether they are traditional or newly written. For centuries, Chinese opera was the main form of entertainment for both urban and rural residents in China as well as
4189-485: The orchestra were divided into two categories: Traditional Chinese string instruments used in Chinese Opera include: Traditional Chinese percussion instruments used in Chinese Opera include: Traditional Chinese woodwind instruments used in Chinese Opera include: The Peking opera subgenre is the focal point of the 1988 play M. Butterfly , in which a spy for the Chinese government disguises himself as
4260-450: The origins of Cantonese opera, but it is generally accepted that opera was brought from the northern part of China and slowly migrated to the southern province of Guangdong in the late 13th century, during the late Southern Song dynasty . In the 12th century, there was a theatrical form called the Nanxi or "Southern drama", which was performed in public theatres of Hangzhou , then capital of
4331-465: The revolutionary energy of the current sociopolitical climate. This operatic style built its foundation from the folk traditions of the rural community while also becoming influenced by European music. Opera may be used as commentaries on political affairs, and in November 1965, the attack on Beijing deputy mayor Wu Han and his historical play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office as anti- Mao , signaled
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#17327761387394402-464: The rise of Yue opera and all female Yue Opera troupes in Shanghai and Zhejiang. A woman-centric form, with all female casts and majority female audience members, plots were often love stories. Its rise was related to the changing place of women in society. In the 1930s, theatrical productions performed by traveling Red Army cultural troupes in Communist-controlled areas were consciously used to promote party goals and political philosophy. By
4473-596: The roles. Exaggerated features and colors made it easier for the audience to identify the roles portrayed. There are over a hundred regional branches of traditional Chinese opera today. In the 20th century, the Peking opera emerged in popularity and has come to known as the "national theatre" of China, but other genres like Yue opera , Cantonese opera , Yu opera , kunqu , qinqiang , Huangmei opera , pingju , and Sichuan opera are also performed regularly before dedicated fans. Their differences are mainly found in
4544-626: The stage in or before 1993, last watershed moment of Cantonese opera for Hong Kong and beyond in the 20th century. The consequences are also significant and long lasting. Unlike Fong and Loong, Yam and Lee never returned. For the rest of her life, Yam didn't even take the bow at curtain calls although she was in the audience on most days that Loong's troupe performed in Hong Kong. Comfortable enough around Yam, Yuen called Yam lazy because she did not comment on some cake served backstage in those days. Local Teochew opera troupes lost their ground regarding live-on-stage Ghost Festival opera performances when
4615-518: The style of Chinese opera The Divine Damsel of Devastation , which went viral as it was the first time many people around the world have heard Chinese opera. Even Yang Yang, the Chinese voice of Yun Jin , was surprised about it. In the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once , one of Evelyn's multiverse counterparts became a prodigious Chinese opera singer after being blinded in a childhood accident. Evelyn assimilates this version's abilities to improve her self-confidence and breath control during
4686-541: The theatre three years later. At the same time, the Government was planning to provide HK$ 100,000 each month, through the Arts Development Council , to subsidise the rental of the Theatre. In 2012, an arrangement was made by a mystery person named Mr. Leung to have landlord Francis Law Sau-fai meet with opera playwright Li Kui-ming (李居明) to talk about the rent situation. Law accepted the rent at
4757-433: The whole spectrum of vocal and dramatic training: singing, acting/movements, speech delivery, and martial/gymnastic skills; while the five methods are categories of techniques associated with specific body parts: hands, eyes, body, hair, and feet/walking techniques. The acting, acrobat, music and singing, live on stage, are well known as essential characteristics of live performances in theaters. Recordings did not replace
4828-464: Was determined to be more than 350 in 1957, but in the 21st century the Chinese government could only identify 162 forms for its intangible cultural heritage list, with many of them in immediate danger of disappearing. For young people, Chinese opera is no longer part of the everyday popular music culture, but it remains an attraction for many older people who find in it, among other things, a national or regional identity. An early form of Chinese drama
4899-432: Was established by "Hua Chang Enterprises Ltd" in 1972. Later it was turned over to "Silver Entertainment Ltd" on 1 September 1980 to Henry Fok , chairman of "Sunbeam Entertainment". In 1988, Yao-Hung, chairman of the board of "Hong Kong United Arts Entertainment Company Ltd" took over its operation. In 1989, the theatre was divided into two auditoriums, with the smaller one converted from the balcony for showing films, while
4970-450: Was one of them. From the 1920s to the 1930s, the development of Cantonese opera in Shanghai was very impressive (Chong, 2014). At that time, the department stores opened by the Cantonese businessmen in Shanghai had their Cantonese opera theater companies. Moreover, the Guangdong literati in Shanghai always put great effort into promotions of Guangdong opera. A newspaper recorded that "The Cantonese operas were frequently played at that time. And
5041-595: Was the first to benefit under the Hundred Flowers Campaign , such as the birth of Jilin opera . In 1954 there were approximately 2000 government-sponsored opera troupes working throughout China each consisting of 50–100 professional performers. Despite its popularity, Peking opera made up a small percentage of these troupes. After the Chinese Communist Revolution a new genre emerged known as Schinggo opera which encompassed
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