HK movie star wants young blood to revive Cantonese Opera

Born in Shunde in southern China's Guangdong province, Law learned Cantonese Opera from his father, who performed Cantonese and Peking Opera, from the time Law was 8 years old. In 1973, he founded his own Cantonese Opera troupe in Hong Kong and devoted himself to promoting the art form worldwide.

He says wherever there are Chinese people who speak Cantonese dialect, there is a market for Cantonese Opera.

As one of the major art forms of traditional Chinese opera, Cantonese Opera is performed in the Cantonese dialect and is popular mostly in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. In September 2009, UNESCO listed Cantonese Opera as a worldwide "masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage".

Like many traditional Chinese operas, Cantonese Opera combines singing, martial arts and acting. It reached its peak in the 1950s and '60s, which was developed by renowned scriptwriter Tong and performers Yam Kim-fai (1912-89) and Pak Suei-sin. The indigenous art form has been on a steady decline in recent decades.

Law's troupe was disbanded because fewer people enjoyed the opera in the '80s, he says. And to make ends meet, he started starring in movies and TV series in 1993.

But occasionally he performed with some local troupes. He says, performing Cantonese Opera makes his heart beat faster and takes him back to his childhood.

Most audiences watching Cantonese Opera are above 45.

The younger generation finds it hard to connect with the ancient art form because of its slow melody and old-fashioned plots. Unlike pop and rock music, they also find it difficult to learn because it takes years to master the skills of Cantonese Opera.