Chinese Opera Festival 2023 to launch free art talks and exhibitions
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To promote greater knowledge and understanding of the artistic features of Chinese opera, the Chinese Opera Festival (COF) 2023 will organise a number of free art talks and exhibitions from May to August. These informative and educational events will delve into different theatrical genres, staging formats, repertoire appreciation and stage aesthetics from various perspectives.
Talks on art of Chinese opera
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This year’s COF will showcase the story of the White Snake in various theatrical genres, and different art groups will feature a number of classic excerpts. The two sessions of “Talks on the Art of Chinese Opera” will discuss excerpt performances and crossover presentations of theatrical stories, respectively. Both talks will be hosted by Adjunct Professor of the Department of Cultural Studies of Lingnan University Professor Li Siu-leung, with details as follows:
Topic: Chinese Opera Excerpts as Theatre in Practice: What to Perform? How to Enjoy?
Date and time: May 27 (Saturday), 3pm
Content: To discuss the significance of excerpts, as a common staging format, in terms of theatrical performance, and the various perspectives on the appreciation of excerpt performances.
Topic: Crossover Presentations of “The Legend of the White Snake” as Exemplified by Wu Opera, Peking Opera and Sichuan Opera
Date and time: June 3 (Saturday), 3pm
Content: To examine the similarities and differences among the three theatrical genres, as well as their respective aesthetics and cultural meanings through the story of the White Snake.
Talks and demonstration lecture on art of Kunqu opera
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“The Peony Pavilion” is a classic play in Kunqu opera that enjoys timeless popularity on the stage of Chinese opera. This year’s COF will again present the three-part full version of “The Peony Pavilion – The Youth Version”. In the three sessions of the “Talks on the Art of Kunqu Opera”, seasoned Kunqu researcher Cheung Lai-chun is invited to examine this famous opera from different angles. Details are listed as follows:
Topic: Classic Arias and Performances of “The Peony Pavilion” That Inject Poetry onto the Theatre Stage
Date and time: May 28 (Sunday), 3pm
Content: Taking several classic excerpts from the play to illustrate how texts are transformed into staging visual imageries with finesse in Kunqu opera.
Topic: Love Blessed by Mortals and the Gods Alike in “The Peony Pavilion”
Date and time: June 4 (Sunday), 3pm
Content: To introduce Du Liniang and several main characters of the play, as well as their importance in the development of the story.
Topic: Theatre Aesthetics as Shown in the Different Stagings of “The Peony Pavilion”
Date and time: June 11 (Sunday), 3pm
Content: To explore the influence of stage aesthetics on Kunqu opera by reviewing several stage versions of the play.
The “Talks on the Art of Chinese Opera” and “Talks on the Art of Kunqu Opera” will be conducted in Cantonese at AC2, 4/F, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Moreover, the COF will organise a demonstration lecture, “From Scholar to King – on the Acting in the ‘The Peony Pavilion’ and ‘The Prophecies of Taoist Monk Iron Headgear'”, which will be hosted by performer Zhou Xuefeng from the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu. Zhou will share his performing experiences over the years and demonstrate techniques with other performers and the musicians of the troupe. The lecture (conducted in Putonghua) will be held at 7pm on July 31 (Monday) at the Theatre (Block I, Middle Zone), Jao Tsung-I Academy. Registration details of this talk will be announced in due course.
Thematic exhibitions
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Apart from talks, three thematic exhibitions will also be held at various venues. The exhibition “An Enchanting Convergence of Chinese Opera” will present the unique charisma of Chinese opera by using 3D video and animation techniques. “The Art of Wusheng Roles in Cantonese Opera” exhibition will introduce the intricate artistry of “wusheng” (martial male) characterisation through precious photos and textual explanations, while “The Art Form and the Repertory” exhibition will display the distinctive features and photos each performance of this year’s festival. Details are listed as follows:
“An Enchanting Convergence of Chinese Opera”
Date: May 31 (Wednesday) to June 18 (Sunday)
Venue: Foyer Exhibition Area, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
“The Art of Wusheng Roles in Cantonese Opera”
Date: May 31 (Wednesday) to June 18 (Sunday)
Venue: Foyer Exhibition Area, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Date: July 13 (Thursday) to August 20 (Sunday)
Venue: Arts Resource Centre, 10/F, Hong Kong Central Library
“The Art Form and the Repertory”
Date: June 20 (Tuesday) to July 9 (Sunday)
Venue: Foyer, Hong Kong City Hall
Date: July 18 (Tuesday) to August 10 (Thursday)
Venue: Exhibition Corner, Yuen Long Theatre
In addition to the stage performances and the above-mentioned talks and exhibitions, extended activities including meet-the-artists sessions and Chinese opera film shows will be held throughout the festival period to promote the artistry and culture of Chinese traditional opera. For more information about the events, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.cof.gov.hk/2023/en/index.html#outreach.
Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the COF has curated quality operatic programmes with the aim of promoting the artistry and culture of Chinese traditional opera since its inception in 2010. COF 2023 will once again bring together an excellent line-up of Chinese opera troupes to stage nine quality operatic programmes covering a variety of theatrical genres, including Peking opera, Qu opera, Sichuan opera, Han opera, Cantonese opera, Wu opera, Kunqu opera and Yue opera, from June to October, showcasing the splendour of Chinese operatic art in all its glory. Tickets are now available at all URBTIX outlets and at the Xiqu Centre Ticket Office. For more details, please visit www.cof.gov.hk.
Nov 25, 2022 | International
Practice of Chinese medicine without registration case in Pat Heung reclassified as manslaughter
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Police yesterday (November 24) reclassified a case of practice of Chinese medicine without registration reported in Pat Heung on December 10, 2020 as manslaughter.
At 10.34pm on that day, Police received a report that a 55-year-old woman suffered from breath difficulty inside her residence in Kam Sheung Road, Pat Heung. Police sped to the scene. The woman was rushed to Pok Oi Hospital in conscious state and was certified dead at 11.42pm on the same day.
The District Crime Squad of Yuen Long District took over the case. Investigation revealed that the deceased for received acupuncture treatment from a now 74-year-old man at her residence at about 9.35pm on that day. He is neither a registered nor listed Chinese medicine practitioner.
At 5.25am on December 11, 2020, Police arrested the man for practice of Chinese medicine without registration and laid a charge against the man with one count of practice of Chinese medicine without registration on the same day. The case was mentioned at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts on December 12, 2020.
Further investigation revealed that the man had performed acupuncture treatment on the deceased for seven times previously. Post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was bilateral pneumothoraxes due to penetrative injuries to the back.
After consulting the Department of Justice, The case was reclassified as manslaughter. The charge against the arrested man was amended to one count of manslaughter and seven counts of practice of Chinese medicine without registration. The case will be mentioned at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on November 28.
Sep 12, 2022 | Business
After the simultaneous search and seizure operations conducted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 8th Sept. 2022, on the offices of Jillian Consultants India Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jilian Hong Kong Ltd., at Gurgaon, Fininty Pvt Ltd at Bangalore and Husys Consulting Ltd, an erstwhile listed company at Hyderabad, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has arrested Mr Dortse yesterday.
Mr Dortse is on the Board of Jillian India Ltd and has clearly emerged as the mastermind of the whole racket of incorporating large number of shell companies with Chinese links in India and providing dummy Directors on their Boards. The arrested person Mr. Dortse had shown himself to be a resident of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh as per the records filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Evidence procured during the enquiry by ROC Delhi and the simultaneous search operations clearly points to dummy Directors being paid by Jilian India Ltd. to act as dummies in several shell companies. Boxes filled with company seals and digital signatures of dummy directors have been recovered from the site. The Indian employees were in touch with the Chinese counterparts through a Chinese instant messaging app. Husys Ltd. was also found to be acting on behalf of Jilian India Ltd.. Initial observations reveal that Husys Ltd. had a pact with Jilian Hong Kong Ltd. Investigations so far have revealed the possible involvement of these shell companies in serious financial crimes detrimental to the financial security of the country.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, under whose aegis SFIO operates, had assigned the investigation of Jilian Consultants India Private Limited and 32 other companies to SFIO on 9th Sept., 2022. Mr. Dortse and one Chinese national are the two directors in Jilian Consultants India Private Limited. Based on inputs and the investigations carried out, it was gathered that Mr. Dortse had fled from Delhi NCR to a remote place in the state of Bihar and was attempting to escape India through the road route. Immediately, a special team was constituted in SFIO which was deputed to the said remote place. In the evening of 10th Sept., 2022, SFIO had arrested Mr. Dortse, who was later produced in the Jurisdictional Court and Orders for his transit remand were obtained.
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RM/PPG/KMN
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