The show is not censored, say organisers and artists who are going to showcase their talent at the upcoming Shanghai World Expo.
With the help of government funding of HK$25 million, 24 arts groups from Hong Kong will run 26 programmes with 70 performances from May to October.
Half of the programmes will be staged at the Expo site and are free of admission charges; others will be staged in performing venues in Shanghai, including the Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai Oriental Art Centre, Shanghai Theatre Academy and Shanghai Concert Hall. The shows will altogether cater to an audience of 20,000.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art and museums in Shanghai are collaborating on two art exhibitions, one on ink art and the other on contemporary art in various media.
Professor Lo King-man, who chairs the programme and development committee for the event, said at a press conference yesterday the committee had considered all programme proposals from different arts groups and left out only two or three it found too commercial.
Lo, who is directing an original chamber opera for the Expo, said there was no detailed programme scrutiny by the Shanghai authorities and all programmes carried an emphasis on modern city life, echoing the theme of the Expo.
For his own opera, which is based on the legend of pirate Zhang Baozai, who was once active in Cheung Chau, he was required to submit a video of his work this month, three months before the show. The opera is to be performed by alumni of the Academy of Performing Arts, of which Lo was formerly a director.
