21 October 2015
In the evening of 17 October, co-sponsored by the Hong Kong Centre for Revitalization and Inheritance of Peking Opera and the Traditional Chinese Opera School affiliated to Shanghai Theatre Academy, the traditional Chinese opera campus tour kicked off in the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Peking opera, Kunqu opera, Shaoxing opera and Pingtan were performed on the same stage, presenting for viewers the unique charm of Chinese traditional arts. After the first show, the campus tour will be held in the City University of Hong Kong’s Wei Hing Theatre, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Chiang Chen Studio Theatre on 19 October and 20 October respectively.
In May this year, Dr Li Hesheng and Dr Gu Tiehua officially registered the Hong Kong Centre for Revitalization and Inheritance of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera. The centre not only is committed to save the archives of Peking opera and Kunqu opera, film and record classical performances, but also signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Theater Academy. The cooperation is primarily to popularize the arts of Peking opera and Kunqu opera in the institutions of higher learning in Hong Kong by means of art lectures combined with teaching the singing of the two opera to the students. The first general class of Peking opera and Kunqu opera was launched in September this year, and the course has been listed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the elective curriculum (3 credits). The centre has invited the teachers of the Shanghai Theatre Academy to teach the singing styles and performance segments of Peking opera and Kunqu opera to the Hong Kong students.
