Cantonese Opera married with contemporary visual arts and new media will be the theme of the first cultural event by the arts hub authority.
Michael Lynch, chief executive of the West Kowloon Cultural District, said the centre's first cultural programme, as a blend of traditional and contemporary art, 'gives some sense of what the future West Kowloon will look like'.
The performances and exhibitions will be held from January 20-23 in the 800-seat West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre, which will be erected on the site of the arts hub's Xiqu Centre, pending approval by the Town Planning Board.
The city's main venue for traditional opera, the Sunbeam Theatre in North Point, closes in February after 40 years. That has led to calls for the arts hub to get the Xiqu Centre up and running quickly. It is scheduled to be ready between 2015 and 2017.
Lynch said the performances would welcome the start of the Year of the Dragon on January 23 and pay tribute to local culture, with five operas starring some of Hong Kong's A-list artists - including Law Ka-ying, Yuen Siu-fai, Ng Chin-fung and Wan Fai-yin.
The five productions to be staged over the four days are Prime Minister of Six States, Contention for the Seal, The Lady Marshal and the Rash General, The Fair Couples Welcome the New Year, and The Sassy Princess and Her Blunt Husband.