The Buzz
The first major building of the West Kowloon Cultural District, a centre for Cantonese opera and traditional Chinese theatre, opens this month
The first major building of the West Kowloon Cultural District, a centre for Cantonese opera, opens this month
After years of watching the buildings in the West Kowloon Cultural District slowly rise from the ground, Hong Kong’s culture vultures can finally visit one of the development’s major projects, the Xiqu Centre, when it opens this month.
Billed as a “contemporary gateway to Chinese opera,” the Xiqu Centre is set to be a world-class platform for the conservation and performance of Cantonese opera and other xiqu (traditional forms of Chinese theatre). Designed by Bing Thom Architects and Ronald Lu and Partners, the building houses a 1,073-seat Grand Theatre, a 200seat Tea House Theatre, eight studio spaces and a seminar hall, giving directors and performers space to devise both intimate productions and huge theatrical spectacles.
After the opening ceremony on January 20, the inaugural performance will be a production of Tong Tik-sang’s Cantonese opera classic The Reincarnation of Red Plum, a moving tale of a Song dynasty love triangle involving a prime minister, a concubine and a scholar. This production will run from January 21 to 30 and is being directed by Cantonese opera star Pak Suet-sin, who played a lead role in the very first production of the opera in 1959. Neatly, that means this production marks the 60th anniversary of the play’s premiere.
And the anniversaries don’t end there—2019 also marks the 10th anniversary since Unesco added Cantonese opera to its list of art forms of intangible cultural heritage that need protecting around the world. The Xiqu Centre may be opening its doors later than expected, but it seems like it’s come along just in time.
The Xiqu Centre officially opens on January 20. For more information, visit westkowloon.hk