(Group photo of performing group from STA's Chinese Opera College at Hong Kong Airport)
(Group photo of Wang Lijun and other famous artists of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera at performance venue)
To commemorate the 20 anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, to promote artistic exchange and to nurture young actors, with the proposal of Mr Tung Chee-hwa, Vice Chairman of CPPCC National Committee, the "South-North Joint Gala Performance of Peking Opera, Kuqu Opera and Cantonese Opera in Celebration of Hong Kong's Return to Motherland" was organized by the Hong Kong Peking Opera Promotion Amateur Performers Club. The event received the support of the Home Affairs Bureau of Hong Kong. Famous actors and actresses of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera from Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, including Kang Wansheng, Xiao Runnian, Wang Lijun, Hu Wenge, Han Shengcun, Lu Ruimin and Shen Yili, participated in the gala performance. The Chinese Opera College of the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) was also invited to join this grand event, and the 55-member performing group led by Liu Chunyou, Party Branch Secretary of Chinese Opera College left for Hong Kong on 25 October.
As introduced by Lee Woo Sing, President of Hong Kong Peking Opera Promotion Amateur Performers Club, there was a gala performance in Hong Kong on 1 July 1997 in celebration of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and, 20 years later, a gala performance would be held again in 2017 with the hope to jointly celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and promote art exchange and social harmony.
As the head of the performing group, Mr Liu Chunyou expressed that the invitation for STA's Chinese Opera College to participate in the gala performance has shown Hong Kong’s recognition of the Chinese opera education and talent cultivation in Shanghai and it would be a very valuable stage experience for those outstanding young students to be able to perform on the same stage with the famous actors and actresses of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera. He hoped that there would be more communication and exchange between the Chinese opera circles in Shanghai and Hong Kong in the future, and also expressed the best wishes for Hong Kong to be more prosperous and harmonious.
The “South-North Joint Gala Performance of Peking Opera, Kuqu Opera and Cantonese Opera in Celebration of Hong Kong’s Return to Motherland” had a number of key highlights. The first one was that it was the first-ever joint performance of three main forms of Chinese opera, i.e. Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera and Cantonese Opera, on the same stage in Hong Kong where the audience had the opportunity to appreciate the different styles and artistic features of three forms of Chinese opera with only one entrance ticket. The second one was Wang Lijun, the famous actor for martial character, playing the part of “Overlord" and co-staring "Farewell My Concubine" with Hu Wenge. The third one was the performance by Hu Wenge and Mou Yuandi, the leading actors of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, who are two very active actors for young female character on the stage of Chinese opera of today. The forth one was the top students of STA’s Chinese Opera College performing the plays "Locking up Five Dragons", "Hong Niang", "Farewell My Concubine", "Lady Zhaojun" and "Red Mulberry Town" on the same stage together with the famous actors and actresses, which demonstrated in a concentrated way the achievements in talent cultivation to the audience in Hong Kong.
