THERE is a general belief that Chinese opera is entertainment for the older generation - for parents and grandparents, but this is not strictly true. Chinese opera has its young enthusiasts as well, says Kwok Sze-yan.
The Form Six student of Lingnan Dr Chung Wing Kwong Memorial Secondary School started learning the traditional Chinese art three years ago when she joined the school's opera singing club.
Sze-yan, 18, claims that Chinese opera songs differ 'only slightly' from pop music in having a 'slower rhythm'.
But the value in an opera song lies in its historical worth.
'One gets a sense of the past, of background, to the times on which the opera stories are based,' she says.
Sze-yan, who enjoys Chinese literature, said Chinese opera study had heightened her interest in literature.