Beijing opera stars Yu Kuizi and Li Shengsu have convinced authorities to skirt the politics of Chinese history in order to bring two of the greatest forms of Chinese opera together. This has made it difficult to convince authorities on the mainland to put it on – until now. In the mainland version of the opera, a working-class character called Li is depicted as proletarian hero, but in the Cantonese version, he is a traitor whose treachery brought an end to the Ming dynasty. Princess Changping, which tells the tragic story of the last princess of the Ming Dynasty, is an example of how Hong Kong’s openness has enabled opera to flourish in ways it cannot in mainland China. Staged by some of the biggest stars of Beijing opera, the production will merge two distinct styles of Chinese opera, hopefully without doing a disservice to either of them. They are trying to pay tribute to Cantonese opera in Hong Kong.” “In the old days it was always Cantonese opera trying to take themes from Beijing opera,” he says. Tam is regularly called up to critique local performances in his capacity as member of the Programme Committee of the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society, and one event he is particularly curious about is the classic Cantonese opera Princess Changping, which is being reworked and retold by the China National Peking Opera Company during this year’s Hong Kong Arts Festival. He is as vocal in expressing its flaws as he is about showing enthusiasm for its latest developments. This article is brought to you by the 46th edition of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.Ĭhinese opera expert Tam Wing-pong is a straight shooter when it comes to appraising Hong Kong’s opera scene.
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