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Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Chinese Opera Festival will stage "Reverberating Notes from South China - Highlights of the Eight Classic Pieces" in July. Renowned Cantonese opera artists in Hong Kong will perform at the shows.
Eight well-known traditional vocal works from southern China (or Lingnan), accompanied by scores originating in Cantonese opera, have become known as the Eight Classic Pieces. Each requires a particular style of voice delivery and has its own rules for ensemble accompaniment. The upcoming performances will feature some of the pieces, including "Baili Xi Reunited with His Wife", "Monk Biancai Releases the Demon", "Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers", "Lulang Reprimands His Son" and "Han Xin Defects to Han from Chu".
Thanks to the salvage efforts of the Cantonese song expert, Mr Leung Yee-chung (1905-1974), who collated the vocal tracks of the eight pieces on Commercial Radio in 1966, this invaluable vocal repertory was preserved. To save it from extinction, the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong launched a research and development project to tie in with this meaningful project, ultimately resulting in this year's festival presentation of the Eight Classic Pieces. Under the artistic direction of Leung So-kam, daughter of the late Mr Leung Yee-chung and herself a famous singer of Cantonese arias, selected Cantonese opera stars in Hong Kong, including Law Kar-ying, Yuen Siu-fai, Liu Kwok-sum and Cheng Wing-mui, will perform the full-length production of "Lulang Reprimands His Son" from the Eight Classic Pieces. The vocal style will be modelled on the recordings made by Mr Leung on Commercial Radio. Two shows will feature Cantonese operatic singers Leung Chi-kit and Ting Oi-lin as well as Cantonese opera star Sun Kim-long, with Tam Wing-lun, Wong Po-huan, Wong Hok-chiu, Yuen Tak-man and Ng Lap-hei presenting arias and excerpts from the Eight Classic Pieces. The audience will be able to revisit this invaluable musical heritage of southern China, which almost fell into oblivion.
Programme details are as follows:
July 8 and 9
Theatre, Yau Ma Tei Theatre
Programme: "Jia Baoyu's Lament for the Wrong Match in the Arranged Marriage", "Death of Lin Daiyu" and "Jia Baoyu Mourning Daiyu" from "Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers"; "Han Xin Accepting Food from the Washer Woman" and "Xiao He Chases After Han Xin" from "Han Xin Defects to Han from Chu"
July 30 and 31
Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall
Programme: Excerpts from "Baili Xi Reunited with His Wife"; "Reading in the Study at Night" from "Monk Biancai Releases the Demon"; "Lulang Reprimands His Son" (full-length opera)
All performances will start at 7.30pm. Ticket prices ranging from $120 to $360 are now available at URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by telephone credit card booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients). Please refer to the programme booklet for group booking discount schemes.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7325, or visit www.cof.gov.hk/2014/en/program_southchina.php. For ticketing enquiries, please call 3761 6661. For telephone credit card booking, please call 2111 5999. For Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk.
Talks with free admission will be held to tie in with the performance. Details as below:
Pre-performance talk
July 6 (Sunday) 2.30pm
Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Space Museum
Speakers: Leung So-kam, Leung Chi-kit and Li Kei-fung
Moderator: Yuen Siu-fai
Post-performance talk
August 3 (Sunday) 2.30pm
Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Space Museum
Speakers: Leung So-kam, Leung Chi-kit and Li Kei-fung
Moderator: Law Kar-ying
Ends/Monday, June 23, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:20
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