In light of the current situation, the talk The Music of Cantonese Opera due to take place at the Xiqu Centre and live-streamed on 2 February 2021 (Tuesday) will now change to a live-streamed talk only. No audience will be admitted in the venue. Details will be announced on www.westkowloon.hk soon.

Cantonese opera features a rich variety of musical elements. In this talk, local Cantonese opera performer and West Kowloon Rising Star Janet Wong and ensemble leader Lee Tik-lun use live demonstrations and audio materials to illustrate the different vocal styles used by actors playing male and female roles, the main melodic and percussion instruments in the accompaniment, and how vocalists and instrumentalists work together. They also look at the musical characteristics of speech forms and how lyrics in a tonal language like Cantonese are set to melodies, and offer insight into how pace and mood is enhanced with the use of melo-rhythmic vocal forms (melodies with a strong rhythm) and programmatic tunes that provide extra-musical mood and narrative.

Language:
Cantonese

Date:
2 February 2021 (Tuesday)

Time:
7:30pm–9:00pm

Venue:
Seminar Hall, 2/F, Xiqu Centre and live-streaming

Speakers:
Janet Wong
Lee Tik-lun

Fee:
Free admission. Limited capacity on a first come, first served basis. Please register online in advance. 

This event will take place at the Xiqu Centre and will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Participants registering to attend online will receive a streaming link for the session with their confirmation email.

Register to attend online

Enquiries:
Please contact Ms Chan at (852) 2200 0812 during office hours or email learning@wkcda.hk.

Remarks:
For the safety of participants, visitors, artists and staff, please note the following health precautions:

• Please bring your own mask and wear it at all times in the venue.
• Temperature checks will be carried out before admission. Visitors showing a temperature of 37.5°C or above will not be able to participate.
• If you have travelled outside of Hong Kong in the past 14 days or are wearing a home quarantine tracking wristband, please wait until your quarantine period is over before visiting West Kowloon.
• Special Arrangements in Response to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Accessibility Services:
Live Cantonese audio description and Hong Kong sign language interpretation are available for this talk upon request with at least 14 days’ advance notice. Please note that these services are available for participants attending the talk at the Xiqu Centre only and not for the online streaming. Wheelchair accessible seats and companion seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Please request at least four days in advance. 

Adverse Weather Arrangements:
If a black rainstorm warning or a typhoon signal no. 8 or above is in force three hours before the start of the event, the event will be rescheduled or cancelled.

About the Speakers:

Janet Wong

Wong graduated in 2005 from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Advanced Certificate Programme (Cantonese Opera), where she specialised in dan (female) roles and studied under musician Ng Lut-kwong. Since then she has performed with various Cantonese opera troupes, including the Cantonese Opera Theatre, and also formed her own troupe. In 2011, Wong became a resident actor in the Hong Kong Young Talent Cantonese Opera Troupe. In 2014, she won the Outstanding Performance Award at the Rising Stars in Cantonese Opera Showcase organised by West Kowloon, as well as the Award for Young Artist (Xiqu) presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Lee Tik-lun

Currently the ensemble leader of the Tea House Rising Stars Troupe. Lee Tik-lun graduated from the School of Chinese Opera at HKAPA and received training from numerous famed musicians, he served as the ensemble leader of the Young Academy Cantonese Opera Troupe of the HKAPA from 2011 to 2017. He has been awarded certificates of Erhu from Central Conservatory of Music Practical Exam (Beijing) and Shanghai Conservatory of Music.