Splendour of Cantonese Opera
HK Heritage Museum Until Sep 27, 2010
It's hard to talk about Cantonese opera without mentioning playwright/librettist Tong Tik-sang and actress Yam Kim-fai. Both helped popularise the genre in the 1940s and 50s and place it on the regional cultural map. To commemorate the anniversaries of their deaths - Tong passed away 50 years ago aged 42 and Yam in 1989 aged 76 - the Hong Kong Heritage Museum is staging a large-scale exhibition celebrating their lives and works. The show also marks the recent inclusion of Cantonese opera on Unesco's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Featuring some 300 exhibits from the museum's vault and lenders such as the Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation, Splendour of Cantonese Opera showcases stage costumes, personal items, old newspaper clippings and film footage that highlight Tong and Yam's influence on the art form.
According to the museum's assistant curator of performing arts, Judith Ng Suet-kwan, part of the section devoted to Tong looks at how he tailor-made his scripts to suit the individual actor's style. For instance, Pak Suet-sin (above, right with Yam) was recognised as an outstanding actress with excellent kai kou. With this in mind, Tong tailored a number of roles for her, including Fuk Siu-yuk in The Legend of Purple Hairpin. They feature a great deal of kou bai (narration) and siu kuk (fixed tunes), which enabled Pak's talents to shine.
'Other than penning elegant scripts, Tong is also known for his comedies [in Cantonese opera] that had mass appeal,' says Ng. 'His serious approach to his work, whether for stage or movies, is legendary.'
Tong was in his prime as a playwright from 1956 to 1959. Working with the San Yim Yeung Opera Troupe led by Fong Yim-fun, the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe led by Pak and the Lai Sing Opera Troupe led by Ng Kwan-lai, he completed around 40 plays, most of which became classics that are still frequently performed. Yam also reached the peak of her career in the mid-1950s, when she and Pak established the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe.