Foreign experts share their first experience of Cantonese Opera

2019-Dec-16       Source: Newsgd.com

What are the performers singing about in Cantonese Opera? How many different roles are there? How do they dress up? What is difference between Cantonese Opera and other Chinese Opera?

What are the performers singing about in Cantonese Opera? How many different roles are there? How do they dress up? What is difference between Cantonese Opera and other Chinese Opera?

More than 50 foreign experts and their families went in search of the answers during the ‘Discovering the New Color of Guangzhou” activity held at the Art Museum of Cantonese Opera on December 14th.

The participants came from different countries including US, UK, Roumania, Pakistan and so on. Most of them said that this was their first time to experience Cantonese Opera.

Mark Reeves, a British pilot working for Capital Airlines, filmed the whole ‘Litchi Song’ performance. The ‘Litchi Song’ is one of the most time-honored Cantonese Operas describing the famous Lingnan fruit, Litchi, as well as the open and inclusive culture of the region.

Although he could not understand the lyrics, Mark enjoyed this rare opportunity to see the opera and get to know about its history. “The museum is not what everybody would expect. It’s traditional but modern. I think it’s good to have such a nice place to protect and share Cantonese Opera. I’m definitely coming back.”

The experts took the chance to try on some Cantonese Opera costumes and learned some martial arts skills after the performance.

The museum’s traditional Lingnan architectural stylings also won the hearts of many of the participants. Cleopatra from Romania said she is fascinated by the historic architecture of different regions in China and she found Enning Road in Liwan District is a great area for exploration.

Located on Enning Road, the Cantonese Opera Art Museum exhibits typical Lingnan style water-town architecture decorated with exquisite porcelain and wood-carvings. Visitors can learn about the history of Cantonese Opera through its bilingual exhibition hall and experience authentic opera culture through the performance given every week at the museum. The museum is open to the public from 9am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday.

Enning Road is a historic road with iconic traditional architecture. It’s one of Guangzhou’s urban regeneration projects aiming to enliven a district while maintaining its unique characteristics.

The activity was hosted by the Guangzhou Foreign Experts Bureau and invited foreign experts to get involved in the local life of Guangzhou. With the support of GDToday, the Bureau has organized various events enabling expats to experience traditional culture, such as calligraphy, paper-cutting and dim sum making.

If there is any local culture you want to experience and learn about, leave a comment below and keep up with GDToday. We invite you to join us at the next event!

 

Author| Jasmine

Photo| Steven

Editor| Keane, Simon

Editor: Jasmine

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