Veteran Leung Sum-yee Keeps Cantonese Opera Alive Through Teaching and Advocacy

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: veteran who keeps flame of Cantonese opera alive

For more than three decades, veteran Cantonese opera teacher Leung Sum-yee has kept the traditional art form going through teaching and cultural advocacy.

Her Kim Sum Cantonese Opera Troupe has also trained young performers during that period.

A classroom beyond performance

Leung does not expect every child who enters her classroom to become a performer.

She considers the effort worthwhile if they leave knowing what good Cantonese opera sounds and looks like.

That approach has shaped her work as both a teacher and an advocate for the traditional art form.

“My purpose was not to train stars or idols. I wanted more people to understand Cantonese opera and to have more audiences,” she said.

Taking opera into the community

Leung founded an opera organisation in 1994, which was renamed Kim Sum Cantonese Opera Troupe two years later.

The troupe runs classes for children, teenagers and adults.

It also brings Cantonese opera into schools and the community, extending its work beyond the classroom.

The organisation’s focus is therefore not limited to producing performers.

It also seeks to help more people recognise and understand the art form, while building a wider audience for Cantonese opera.

For Leung, even students who do not go on to perform can contribute to that wider understanding by learning what quality Cantonese opera sounds and looks like.

Source: South China Morning Post