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

Chapter Eight
China and Vancouver
Many opera performers went to Hong Kong and became citizens after 1949. Others
stayed in China. The development of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong and China went in
different directions. After the 1960s, many citizens of Hong Kong migrated to different parts of
the world. Attracted by the nice weather, scenic view of the Rockies and the Pacific Ocean and
an established Chinatown, some left Hong Kong for Vancouver, Canada.
China
The development of Cantonese opera in China after 1949 was relatively conservative in
comparison to its progress in Hong Kong. The opera was supported by the Chinese government
at the beginning. But in communist China, production and training was directed by the ideology
of the country. The development of the opera in Guangzhou went through rigid control,
especially during the Cultural Revolution. Mao’s wife Gong Qing pointed out that the tenets of
Cantonese Opera were not suitable for the Revolution. Since the 1980s, with the relaxation of
the ban and the death of Mao, more exchange has allowed performers from Mainland China to
absorb new technologies from Hong Kong. Performances in China caught up very quickly.
Guangzhou has had government run training institutions since the 1950s, which allowed better
technical training for students. They had an advantage, in this respect, over their counterparts in
Hong Kong. In contrast, Hong Kong benefitted from new staging technologies from the West,
and wealth in Hong Kong allowed the development of more audience friendly and glamorous
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