Media

Book launch of Cantonese Operatic Singing Art
of Leung Yi-chung and Leung So-kam

21 Feb 2017

 

Cantonese opera is a traditional cultural art in Hong Kong and is on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity. Representative schools of Cantonese operatic singing are influential to the performance art of Cantonese opera. Mr Leung Yi-chung (1905-1974) was a leading light in Cantonese song art and invented his unique “Jiexinqiang” vocal school. His daughter, Ms Leung So-kam, is a master of Cantonese operatic singing art and is known for her unique singing style which is tuneful and demonstrates the scholastic touch.

Since 2006, the Centre for Advancement of Chinese Language Education and Research (CACLER) of the Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been working together with partnering schools, under the HKU Cantonese Opera Education and Research Project, to integrate Cantonese Opera into the secondary school curriculum and on related researches. In 2015, the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust funded the research team led by Dr Dorothy Ng Fung-ping to implement the Publication Project of Cantonese Operatic Singing Art of Leung Yi-chung and Leung So-kam. This new publication records the artistic achievements of Mr Leung Yi-chung and Ms Leung So-kam and gives an account of the Cantonese operatic singing art of the latter. Two compact discs are attached to the book: one of them contains 57 segments extracted from 30 demo songs for learning; and the other one contains the full version of four representative songs for appreciation.

This publication describes the experiences and skills of the Leung’s Cantonese operatic singing art with demonstration of segments and songs, which guides readers and learners to understand the characteristics of their singing art more easily. Such guiding approach raises both the interest and the effectiveness of learning, which favours the inheritance of this traditional art form. It is not only a valuable literature of Cantonese operatic singing art, but also a useful reference to Cantonese opera education.

Please visit http://web.edu.hku.hk/press to view the e-version of the press release and photos.

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Emily Cheung, Senior Manager (Development and Communications), Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 4270 / fax: 2517 0075 / email: emchy@hku.hk) or Ms Vivian Chau, Executive Officer, CACLER, Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 5167 / fax: 2517 4403 / email: hschau@hku.hk).