27/5 (Sat) 3pm

Chinese Opera Excerpts as Theatre in Practice: What to Perform? How to Enjoy?

Excerpt performances are a common staging format in Chinese opera. It is immensely popular in traditional Kunqu and also commonly seen in other Chinese opera genres. An excerpt staging means only a segment or segments of a play will be performed – it may be a single act or scene from one play, performed by a solo actor or a duet, or a medley of several excerpts from a full-length play to make up one show. The Chinese Opera Festival 2023 features a large number of excerpt performances. This talk will discuss what such a theatrical practice of “segmented” staging is trying to achieve. From the perspective of theatre appreciation, what are we appreciating?

3/6 (Sat) 3pm

Crossover Presentation of The Legend of the White Snake in Regional Chinese Operas, as Exemplified by Wu Opera, Peking Opera and Sichuan Opera

The story of the White Snake, Green Snake, Xu Xian and Monk Fahai is widely circulated in traditional folklore and Chinese traditional theatre; there are also numerous adaptations in contemporary literature, cinema and television. This summer, the Chinese Opera Festival 2023 will bring to the audience the story of the White Snake as staged in Wu Opera, Peking Opera and Sichuan Opera. In this talk, the speaker will examine the similarities and differences of the story of the White Snake as rendered in these three theatrical genres, as well as their respective aesthetics and cultural meanings.

Speaker : Li Siu-leung (Adjunct Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University)

AC2, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

In Cantonese

Free admission. Limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.