Ms. Wang Kit Ching- Cantonese Opera Actress
December 2015

Do you think the audience prefer traditional Cantonese opera, or do you think they seek for new kinds of arrangements of Cantonese Opera?

In order to attract new audiences, I believe that it is necessary to have new kinds of shows. What I mean by new shows is having more originality in the way we approach the content, the skills, and the production process…and then it will be easier to guide them to watch more traditional productions. If they jump straight in and watch some of the classics, everything but the sword fights will probably go over their heads. Perhaps we can also think about how to shorten the time of each show, how to make the plot line more concise, and not drag out the length of the show like in the past.

Long-term fans of traditional Cantonese Opera also seem to enjoy newer productions too, and have left Facebook messages encouraging us to write new plays and try out new things. To be clear, one would still very much need to learn the traditional skill sets—if we have 200 performances a year, around 160 of those tend to be traditional productions. Having the traditional skill set is an important foundation, and will help you to identify the good aspects and strong points in performances.


Are there any short-term goals or plans regarding your profession that that you could share with us?

Regarding goals, I guess I can say that I simply want to do well for each performance, since performing at a level that I can be fully satisfied with for each show is already a challenge. I feel very grateful, as there have been many opera troupes that have given me opportunities to explore different roles.

Next year will be Karen’s Meadow Cantonese Opera Studio’s tenth year anniversary, so right now I am considering what kind of production we will have. My seniors in the industry are always encouraging us to think of specific ways to attract new audiences, so we are always asking ourselves this question. Is it enough to take a new story line and produce it, if we want to create something new? How can we combine elements of traditional Cantonese opera and new, more modern elements? Sometimes a production can have great plot and emotional tension, but then it doesn’t really have the characteristics/framework of Cantonese Opera that defines the art. So in creating a new production, we have to consider how it is that we can balance each element of Cantonese Opera. I have three subject matters in mind that I want to carry out for next year. So now I’m considering which one I should go with first—and also how to implement it so that I achieve the result I want.