Reviving Traditional Chinese Theatre Arts via the Chinese Opera Information Centre

摘要

Chinese opera is a comprehensive performing art that combines music, singing, poetry, literature, dance, acrobatics and martial arts. With a history of over 800 years, traditional Chinese opera used to be one of the most popular forms of entertainment amongst all levels of society, ranging from the common people to the imperial court in China. Today, there are over 250 different styles of regional operas in China. Unfortunately, many traditional art forms are facing either direct or indirect threats to their survival, and Chinese opera is no exception. In the past few decades this traditional art form has suffered a drastic decline in popularity, and　its current audience is limited to the older generation.With the support of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the Chinese Opera Information Centre (COIC) was established in 2000 with the aim of giving a permanent home to a wealth of archival materials related to traditional Chinese opera. In terms of collection size and scope, the COIC currently holds about 1,500 titles of librettos, close to 300 titles of books, and over 2,000 items of opera plots, as well as over 2,500 titles of audio‐visual materials, including live opera recordings,　DVDs, CDs, and cassette tapes.In the following interview, Milky Cheung, Administrative Coordinator at the COIC, discusses the reasons behind Chinese Operau27s loss of popularity among the Hong Kong public, as well as her joy in serving as a cultural messenger who bridges the gap between the traditional Chinese arts and the younger generation.