Cantonese opera expert to report to American boss of Hong Kong’s West Kowloon hub
Cantonese opera performers expressed concern following the appointment of an Irish-American as head of the city’s showcase centre for the traditional art form
A local Chinese candidate has been shortlisted as the head of Hong Kong’s showcase centre for Cantonese opera at the West Kowloon arts hub amid a row over the appointment of an expatriate as director of performing arts.
The source said a Chinese candidate originally in the running for the director’s job had pulled out, leaving several expatriate applicants among whom Friedman was the most experienced.
“The new head of the Xiqu Centre is no stranger to the performers, and will report to Alison,” the source said.
“Barwo is a key industry player at the Xiqu Centre, but it also serves other stakeholders such as the Academy for Performing Arts and some young talent groups. And there are other art forms such as Peking opera and Kun opera.”
Barwo, or the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, which represents more than 1,000 Cantonese opera performers, voiced opposition to Friedman’s appointment on Wednesday, asking why a “100 per cent Chinese art form is governed by a foreigner”.
Barwo chairwoman and local diva Liza Wang Ming-chun demanded to know why an independent director of Chinese traditional theatre was not appointed instead. The fact that the two previous chief executives of the arts hub and the incumbent were British was evidence of the authority’s preference for expatriates, she argued.
Wang added on Friday she was concerned about the future development of the Xiqu Centre if its head were to play an administrative role and report to Friedman.
We should not judge a person’s ability based on her nationality
This meant, she said, the authority’s executive director, Louis Yu Kwok-lit, broke his promise of putting an independent director specifically in charge of xiqu, an appointment to be taken up by a local Chinese opera veteran and performer.
In a statement, the Barwo chairwoman claimed that she and many Xiqu Centre advisers repeatedly discussed the independent director appointment in depth.
The Post has reached out to Yu.
Friedman is to supervise Chinese opera, dance, theatre and music. She is the founding director of Ping Pong Productions, a Beijing-based consultancy promoting cultural exchanges.
