Liza Wang
Television personality and Cantonese opera star Liza Wang has recently been venting her outrage at the government’s decision to turn over a heritage building to a US-based art school rather than to her Cantonese Opera Association. The outspoken performer talks to June Ng about the Cantonese opera crisis and her love for the traditional art form.
I was born in Shanghai, but my family came to Hong Kong when I was a child. My dad was a university graduate, but rather than aiming high, he chose to settle for a job as a manager in a small company, while all his old classmates went on to greater things.
I’ve always enjoyed performing. In school, I competed in singing and recital competitions. After I graduated, I decided to take an acting course organized by a TV station. That was 38 years ago. I’ve been in the industry ever since.
My first Cantonese opera performance was a disaster. It was in 1983, and I was a very successful television actress. A huge opera star had asked me to perform a duet with him. I was only a beginner at the time.
He made fun of me onstage, and it was all over the press the next day. After that incident, I didn’t sing for five years.
Then in 1988, Cantonese opera star Law Kar-ying—now my boyfriend—asked me to perform with him. I agreed, under one condition: that he wouldn’t perform with other partners for a year, and that his only focus would be to train me. It was a bad deal for him, he missed a lot of lucrative opportunities.
But he kept his promise. He is a reliable and trustworthy man.
I would describe our relationship as a partnership. We’ve been together for so long, and we still keep influencing each other. He’s like a beloved family member.