Opera veterans on way out as work begins on Kowloon venue
Art form will have a new home at the cultural centre by 2016. But who will take the stage when its most experienced performers retire?
Now that construction of the city's first dedicated Chinese opera centre has begun, questions are being asked about who will take the stage when the current crop of masters have retired.
Work began on the Xiqu Centre - the first building of the West Kowloon Cultural District - on Tuesday, and is due to be completed by 2016. It is expected to be a world-class venue, aimed at cultivating the art form's development through seminars and shows at its Bamboo Theatre.
But finding a new generation of top-notch performers is already a worry for those in charge of the arts hub.
"Succession is going to be a serious problem for this intangible cultural heritage," said the authority's executive director of performing arts, Louis Yu Kwok-lit. "The top-tier masters, who are 60 to 70, are still very active at the moment. They are sharing their experience with the younger generation, who are 20 to 30.
"But can we sustain this art form a decade from now, when the old masters can't perform any more? It's a problem that has to be addressed," he said.
Mastering the skills of Cantonese opera - singing, reciting lyrics, acrobatics and martial arts - can take 20 years.