Kam (centre) poses with KSK Art Crew performers Jean Lee (left) and Joyce Chan. Her Cantonese opera troupe will take the stage at Kwai Chai Hong alley in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown on Sept 21 and 22. Photo: The Star/Faihan Ghani
There's far more to Chinese opera than the flashy costumes, dramatic makeup and distinctive singing style often associated with this type of musical theatre.
The traditional art form, which can trace its roots back to the Three Kingdoms Period (A.D. 220–265), pays tribute to many aspects of China’s heritage, from classic folklore to martial arts to unique vocal techniques.
Cantonese opera grand master Kam Sin Kiew recently sat down for an interview in Kuala Lumpur, with the assistance of an interpreter, to reflect on the golden era when Chinese opera was held in higher esteem.
“We used to perform regularly on grand stages, where rapt audiences would bring their own stools to sit and watch. But these days, we’re more often than not only called for special occasions, like weddings or birthdays,” says Kam.
“In the past, we’d be booked for a good 40 days during the peak season, which takes place between the 5th and 9th months of the Chinese lunar calendar. But now, because of the economy, everyone’s tightening their belts, so it’s down to 10 to 12 days, or at the minimum, five days,” she adds.
Raised in Hong Kong, Kam is the fourth generation from a family of respected Cantonese opera artists.
With over 50 years of experience in the art form, she’s made it her life’s work to continue her family legacy and currently leads the KSK Art Crew, which she founded in KL in 2012.
This weekend (Sept 21 and 22), Kam will proudly watch as her KSK Art Crew performs a series of traditional Chinese opera shows at the Kwai Chai Hong alley, Lorong Panggung, Chinatown, in Kuala Lumpur, wrapping up the Mid-Autumn festivities.
Kam says that she still performs Cantonese opera shows, but most of her focus these days is to nurture new talent. Photo: Kam Sin Kiew
“There are hundreds of different types of Chinese opera, such as Beijing opera, Teochew opera, Hakka, Sichuan, and many more. I specialise in Cantonese opera,” she explains.
“For Cantonese opera, we typically put on a full opera production, which is traditionally around four to four and half hours long. It tells a full story from start to finish, like a movie.”
Considering the length of just one production, becoming a Cantonese opera practitioner requires a lot of discipline and commitment as well as stamina.
Take the elaborate costumes, for example – depending on the design and materials used, one costume can weigh between 3kg and 4kg, while the headgear weighs at least 2kg.
If the costume is the kind that comes with flags, that adds another 2kg.
“On a hot day, it can get punishing and lead to terrible headaches, so we need to take breaks,” shares Kam.
The costumes aren’t cheap, either – Kam works with Hong Kong-based designers specialising in Chinese opera costumes to make her outfits, which can rack up between HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 (RM5,600 to RM11,200) for just one costume.
For the next generation
It may seem like getting into Chinese opera requires a lot of investment, but as the only instructor still teaching the art of Cantonese opera in Malaysia, Kam is doing what she can to make it more accessible for those interested in trying it out.
For beginners, she offers taster classes that introduce the basics of Chinese opera and allow participants to try their hand at putting on the make-up and costumes and practise the gestures. For those who want to learn more, Kam also offers intermediate and advanced classes.
A live performance at Kwai Chai Hong in Kuala Lumpur features a Chinese opera song about Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty and his beloved Concubine Yang. Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Kam, who moved to Malaysia in 1988, has been teaching Cantonese opera for more than 40 years. As Cantonese opera practises a discipleship system, all of Kam’s students – or her disciples, as she calls them – refer to her as “Sifu” (master/teacher).
“Currently, there are about 20 disciple-students in the KSK Art Crew; over half of them are women and aged between 26-75 years old. Two of them have been with me for the past 15 years. I’ve probably taught over 90% of those performing Cantonese opera here,” she says.
Kam practises with her students at least once a week; two to three times a week if they have a performance coming up.
Even during the pandemic, they continued practising through online video.
“In Chinese opera, your facial expressions are important, as well as the movements of your hands and feet. It’s more than just acting – you need to know how to sing in the correct pitch for extended periods of time, which requires getting the technique right.
“However, we’re so used to projecting our voices for our performances that we tend to get a little loud when we’re gathered together,” she adds with a cheeky smile.
When asked why fewer people have shown interest in Chinese opera of late, Kam considers the question for a moment.
“It has a lot to do with the lack of exposure to it,” she finally replies. “Nowadays, there are fewer opportunities for young audiences to watch our performances.”
Kam also points out the misconception that Chinese opera performances have a religious connotation to them.
“In order to survive, Chinese opera troupes will take up whatever jobs are available, and these days, it’s mostly Taoist temples that are willing to hire us.
With her wealth of experience, Kam (second, right) continues to keep Cantonese opera alive in Malaysia. She is pictured alongside KSK Art Crew performers and an audience member at Kwai Chai Hong in KL. Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
“I think this is why younger generations tend to associate Chinese opera as a religious performance, but it has nothing to do with religion – it is an art form,” she clarifies.
But none of that detracts from Kam’s efforts to keep Chinese opera alive – in fact, it’s the challenges that keep her going and constantly thinking of new ways to reach audiences.
In order to overcome the perception that Chinese operas are too long for audiences to sit still the whole way through, Kam began the practice of performing five- to 15-minute excerpts from classics such as The Emperor’s Daughter, Emperor Ming Of Tang Dynasty And Concubine Yang, and Romance Of The Phoenix Tower.
When it comes to her original works, Kam also tries to inject elements that will attract modern audiences. For example, in July, KSK Art Crew performed The Dark Journal at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre, a tetralogy of dark stories featuring the supernatural.
More exposure needed
Zeen Chang, managing partner of Bai Chuan Management – the company behind the popular Kwai Chai Hong attraction in KL – shares Kam’s view that the decline of Chinese opera is largely due to lack of exposure and persistent misconceptions about the art form.
This is exactly why Chang chose to honour Chinese opera with Kwai Chai Hong’s latest Mid-Autumn Festival art installation, Drama Queen – a tribute to the iconic Doyennes of Chinese opera, like Kam – which will be on display until Sept 22.
“At Kwai Chai Hong, we’ll usually do a themed art installation celebrating some aspect of Chinese culture for major festivals in the Chinese lunar calendar, like Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival – we’ve had the Chinese dragon, mahjong tiles, Chinese calligraphy and Chinese dolls,” says Chang.
In this 2019 file photo, Kam (left) guides a student through the proper handling of theatre props, such as a wooden stick, during a rehearsal. Photo: The Star/Filepic
“This year, we picked Chinese opera, because it’s a great representation of Chinese culture as one of the oldest forms of performing arts.
“The more research we did on it, the more we realised that we’ve lost so much of this vibrant culture in Malaysia because the young people are just not exposed to it.”
Kam also mentions that since the Covid-19 pandemic, there are no more than five Cantonese opera troupes that remain active. “Over the years, people have come to associate Chinese opera as something that’s ‘not for them’.
“There’s the belief that when there’s a Chinese opera performance during the Hungry Ghost Festival, the first three rows are for the spirits, so parents will tell their children not to watch.
“For those who are not Chinese or Taoist, there’s this perception that it’s not their culture or religion, so they cannot enjoy it. Through this art installation, I want everyone to discover that anyone can appreciate Chinese opera,” adds Chang.
Besides having an innovative art installation by local artist Tan Sher Lynn that pairs the physical with the digital using augmented reality, Chang also had KSK Art Crew perform live at Kwai Chai Hong in an effort to bring Cantonese opera closer to Malaysians.
On Saturdays throughout the Mid-Autumn Festival, the small alleyway, which typically welcomes local and international visitors, became an impromptu stage for a Cantonese opera performance, drawing large crowds of curious onlookers.
“We planned the live shows to be something for visitors who were already at Kwai Chai Hong to enjoy, but unexpectedly, we had so many people writing in to our social media accounts to confirm the show times, as they wanted to come specifically to catch the performance, which was rare. It just goes to show that if you give Chinese opera a platform, people will come.
“I really hope efforts such as this will encourage more people to give Chinese opera a chance, so that this beautiful art form won’t go extinct in my lifetime and future generations will get the opportunity to experience it for themselves,” concludes Chang.
