Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Qiantian
Exterior view of the Hong Kong Opera Centre.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Xiaowei
Starring Hong Kong's well-known Cantonese opera performance artist Lo Ka Ying, "The Legend of the White Snake" is the first Cantonese opera film to cooperate in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The picture shows the stills of the film.
Profile picture
At the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom, young actors from the Hong Kong Yangming Children's Cantonese Opera Troupe perform Cantonese opera.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shen
Recently, the famous Cantonese opera performance artist Luo Jiaying in Hong Kong has been particularly busy. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the Cantonese opera drama he co-authored and co-starred in is in intensive rehearsals.
Nowadays, in Hong Kong, cantonese opera is performed almost every day, and troupes of all sizes sing and appear in various theaters. Luo Jiaying sighed that after 25 years of returning to the motherland, Cantonese opera has flourished in Hong Kong, "Our own things are back!" ”
Watching a play was once the memory of the older generation in Hong Kong
From the 1920s to the 1960s, Cantonese opera was popular in Hong Kong and was loved by the public. Luo Jiaying has developed a strong interest in Cantonese opera since childhood, and began to appear on the Cantonese opera stage at the age of 10. He has an unforgettable memory of the development of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong.
"Going to the theater to see a play was the memory of the older generation in Hong Kong." Luo Jiaying recalled that the elders in the family were cantonese opera fans. Sometimes they go to the theater to watch the drama, sometimes they listen to the Cantonese opera broadcast on the radio, and Cantonese opera is closely linked to their daily life.
"The older generation in Hong Kong has a very deep affection for Lingnan culture, and for ten minutes they love traditional Cantonese opera, and almost everyone can hum a few words." Luo Jiaying said.
Cantonese opera is a local drama that has lasted for hundreds of years, and together with the Lingnan School of Painting and Guangdong Music, it is known as the Three Shows of Lingnan, and enjoys the reputation of "Southern Red Beans".
Zhong Zhenzhen, director of performing arts at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, introduced that Hong Kong used to be a fishing port, and there were many yanjia and fishing people who believed in Guanyin and Tianhou, and built many temples, especially the Tin Hau Temple, so they often invited a play to reward the gods and repay the protection, which is the "divine gong drama".
"Before the return, traditional culture, including Cantonese opera, could not be promoted, and it was difficult for Cantonese opera actors to find jobs. But acting in 'divine drama' has always maintained our livelihood and allowed us to get through the most difficult days. Luo Jiaying said.
Cantonese opera has a bigger stage in Hong Kong
In Luo Jiaying's view, in Hong Kong before the handover, whenever there is a big festival, the most important cultural activities are usually symphony, opera, etc., such as "other people's", "even in the lively atmosphere, always feel the lack of emotional identity." ”
After Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the governments, cultural circles and Cantonese opera circles of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have gradually carried out active exchanges and cooperation. In 2003, the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao began to plan the "application for heritage" of Cantonese opera, and designated the last Sunday of November every year as "Cantonese Opera Day" to broaden the audience's horizons and promote the art of Cantonese opera.
In 2006, Cantonese opera was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2009, Cantonese opera was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Luo Jiaying sighed: "The success of Cantonese opera's 'application for heritage' has made more people realize that Cantonese opera is a precious, excellent and own cultural product, and has also made Cantonese opera have a broader living space. ”
In recent years, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has brought together the strength of Cantonese opera artists, making Cantonese opera, a traditional cultural treasure, an important cultural business card that tells the story of the same roots and the same vein in the Greater Bay Area.
"The opportunities for exchanges and exchanges between the Cantonese opera community in Hong Kong and their counterparts in the mainland have increased, and everyone has learned from each other's strong points and made concerted efforts to promote the better development of Cantonese opera." Zhong Zhenzhen said.
Two years ago, at the busy Austin Crossing in Kowloon, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Opera Centre, a landmark building resembling a traditional Chinese lantern, was erected. This is the first performance venue in the West Kowloon Cultural District and the first performance venue in Hong Kong dedicated to opera.
"Cantonese opera has one more 'home' in Hong Kong!" Chung Chung said that the completion of the Hong Kong Opera Centre has greatly encouraged the Cantonese opera community in Hong Kong.
Nowadays, Cantonese opera art not only has a broader stage in Hong Kong, but also forms a more popular atmosphere in the folk. Chung Chung said that meeting up with three or five confidants, walking into the tea house theater theater of xiqu center, experiencing the tea house culture that combined with opera performance in the past, tasting "one cup (tea) two pieces (dim sum)", and enjoying the classic cantonese opera and folding repertoire have become a new way of life for more and more Hong Kong citizens.
Let the traditional Chinese culture be passed on
After the return to the motherland, the HKSAR Government actively promoted the development of Cantonese opera, and successively set up the Cantonese Opera Development Advisory Committee and the Cantonese Opera Development Fund to fund research and promotion activities related to the development of Cantonese opera. In 2003, the HKSAR Government began to include Cantonese opera in the music curriculum of primary and secondary schools, and successively launched Cantonese opera music workshops, and in 2012, Cantonese opera was included in the music examination curriculum of the new high school system.
"In order to continue the vitality of Cantonese opera and pass on this precious culture and art, it is a particularly important task to cultivate the successors of Cantonese opera." Zhong Zhenzhen said.
In the rehearsal room of the Shenghui Cantonese Opera Promotion Association in Kowloon, Hong Kong, more than 20 children are practicing leg presses. The youngest of them is only 3 years old, and most of them are teenagers.
"In the past, we studied Cantonese opera to make ends meet. Nowadays children are different, Cantonese opera has become their interest. Yang Jianhua, artistic director of the Shenghui Cantonese Opera Promotion Association, who is more than 80 years old, said that learning Cantonese opera is a very hard thing, but children are willing to endure hardships because they love traditional Chinese culture from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhong Tianrui, 13 years old this year, has been studying Cantonese opera for 10 years. He said that in the process of studying Cantonese opera, he had a better understanding of the motherland, not only learned the history and culture of the motherland, but also learned the excellent traditional virtues of the Chinese nation such as respecting the old and loving the young. It gives him a lot of fun out of it.
Over the years, Zhong Tianrui, together with other small actors of the Cantonese Opera Troupe, has gone out of Hong Kong and successively exchanged performances in Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Macao, Singapore and other places, and stepped onto a bigger stage.
"I feel happy to see audiences in different places who are fascinated by our performances, curious about our costumes and props, and cheering and applauding for us." Zhong Tianrui said that he hopes to redouble his efforts, practice the basic skills more solidly, and use wonderful performances to let more and more people know the excellent traditional Chinese culture.
Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition