RED BOAT TROUPES AND CANTONESE ... - University of Georgia

most important figure in introducing Western music and Western instruments to Cantonese
Opera.
Goe Tan
I cannot discuss Cantonese opera without mentioning goe tan (singing stage). Goe tan
was the performance of opera arias, narrative songs, siu kuk, and popular Cantonese songs in
teahouses, entertainment parks, and roof top gardens in Guangzhou. Each song or program
could last as long as an hour. Singers of goe tan usually performed without much gesture or
elaborate costumes. In the 1930s, well-known singers performed in a few different venues each
evening and were booked for long periods of time. Very often, their singing techniques were
better than those of opera performers because they sang a lot and did not worry about acting.
They are called the coeng gaa ban (singing specialist). Woman singer Tsu Lau Seen had an
attractive low voice (zi hau). One of her famous narrative song was zoi zit coeng ting lau
(Breaking the Willow Branches Once More). It was a heart-felt tune. Cantonese radio listeners
in Shanghai loved the song. One day, a DJ found the phonograph record punched through by the
stylus. He had to rush out to buy a new one to continue the program. In the 1930s, Tsu and
other three singers were named the se dai ping hau (Four Queens of ping hau). Her low voice is
exceptionally thick and her high voice was forceful. Her singing was compared to Chinese
scenic mountain and water pictures. 117
The culture of goe tan has been adopted in Hong Kong. There are still coeng gaa ban
who give concerts. In 2009, I attended the farewell concert of Zoeng Yim Hung, who had a
career of singing professionally and teaching students for 50 years. Zoeng could sing both zi hau
and ping hau very well, her technique is superb. Compared to theater opera performance, these
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Djmusicarea, “Tsu Lau Sin,” by Ikl, http://www.djmusicarea.com./viewthread.php?action=printable&tid=3843
(accessed April 11, 2010).
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