The year 2022 will witness the 65th anniversary of the Canto-opera classic “Floral Princess".  In the aftermath of the unprecedented pandemic, life is being rebuilt both on stage and off stage.  Revelation of the Floral Princess – “Like Prime Minister Leon of ancient China who could keep the Precious Jade Disk intact, Consort Zau can secure the safety of the Floral Princess”.  The protagonists of this story brought to action the familiar line “Thou shall wade through the path of life and death” and shone in their youthful days.  Utopia Cantonese Opera Workshop will be staging a series of professional and student editions of this classic to pay tribute to the invincible trio in Canto-opera, namely Yam Kim Fai, Pak Suet Sin and Tong Tik Sang, and to broaden the scope of local original art production.

From Love to Legend
In the 1950’s in Hong Kong, there was a lady in her twenties who enlivened her Canto-opera performances through her true love for it.  She partnered with elders and friends in the industry to produce quality Canto-operas.  In retrospect after over half a century, she is Pak Suet Sin, part of the legendary invincible trio in Canto-opera, together with Yam Kim Fai and Tong Tik Sang.  The trio accomplished the era of the Sin Fung Ming Troupe, whose influence extends to the whole world of Canto-opera.  To this day, they are second to none.

Utopia will be remaking “Floral Princess” with 15 professional-edition shows in June 2023.  The full-fledged production facilities will await the young ones who have “true love for it” to present quality Canto-opera and to “enliven” their performances.  There will be an open audition for the leading roles for the Student Edition.  They will be the new hosts on stage.

Open Audition – Before Places are Filled Up
(1) Students with some knowledge of Canto-opera are welcome

(2) Open to all secondary and tertiary students in Hong Kong aged 14 or above (Note: those who were full-time students as at 1 September 2019, i.e. before the pandemic, are also eligible)

(3) Entrants have to be nominated by a nominator. (Nominators could be canto-opera instructors, school teachers, parents or relatives)

(4) Concurrent registration is welcome to all 3 Student Editions: Theatre Edition, Theatrical Concert Edition and Recital Edition

Enrolment Method A
(1) Download “pdf Enrolment Form”, complete it and save it as a pdf file.

(2) Using a mobile phone, record a performance of about 5 minutes of a section taken from Floral Princess (music accompaniment could be karaoke from market or self-prepared).  Upload to Youtube with the Visibility option set to “Unlisted”.

(3) Email the above pdf file, i.e. (1) above, to < st.theatre@utopia.org.hk> .  Please specify the name of the entrant in the email Subject/Title and copy the Youtube link of (2) above in the body of the email.

Enrolment Method B
Click “Online Enrolment Form”, input data and submit online.

Awards
(1) A scholarship of HKD15,000 will be awarded to the best performer.

(2) A Certificate of Appreciation will be awarded to the nominator of each shortlisted student to commend his/her contribution to the preservation of canto-opera art.

Performance
Venue:  Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District
Date:  2023.6.20  7:30pm

The Performance Format
(1) The Floral Princess script will be condensed to last for about 110 minutes.  Shortlisted entrants will experience artistic practice on stage.  This serves to cultivate whole-person development beyond the curriculum.

(2) Available for this edition will be the production facilities for the Floral Princess 65th Anniversary Professional Edition, including pre-production, stage design and production, music design, lighting design, sound design, etc.

Enquiry: 9880-8410 (Mr. Chan)

Floral Princess 65th Anniversary
a series of 9 events
Floral Princess | Professional Edition
ArenA | Write on, as THE tribute to YAM-PAK-TONG
Floral Princess | Theatre Student Edition
Floral Princess | Theatrical Concert Student Edition
Floral Princess | Recital Student Edition
Call Loud Yeah! | Black Box Theatre Festival
Seoi-bo-long Video Festival
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