Festival Structure

   The Festival will be held over three days and will have three major components: Performance, Fiesta & Exhibition.   

         Performance: There will be different day and night programmes over the three days. The festival will feature four opera-types:  Hokkien Opera (xiangju), Teochew Opera (chaoju) and Cantonese Opera (yueju). Some of the best among Singapore’s opera companies will be showcasing their works. The international element comes in the form of Jin Opera from China’s Shanxi province as the aim is to make this festival international in future. The first three opera-types are very popular in Singapore as most Chinese immigrants belong to these dialect groups.

         Fiesta: Ngoh hiang (fried meat rolls wrapped in beancurd skin), cheng teng and tau suan (traditional desserts), sweet-sour preserved fruit …. Sigh! … fond childhood memories are made of such stuff. Some things should not be relegated to nostalgia. Even in the world of SMS, MMS and the Internet, icons of the past have a place and a relevance.

         Exhibition: With “Lifestyle 1965” as the theme, the exhibition will focus on visions of that time. This will comprise mainly photographs.

Programme for Performances

         Official Opening: A night of ritual operas (li xi) from the different opera-types performed in mime. Ritual operas are usually the prelude to the main performance as an auspicious gesture of goodwill and good fortune for all.

         Day Performances:  These are designed to educate students and tourists about street opera and will comprise a tour of the stage and a short performance. These opera tours will be conducted in English and/or Mandarin.

         Night performances: Classic favourites take centrestage.

         About Ritual Operas (Li Xi): Ritual Operas were short dramatic pieces, often done in mime, for purposes of granting blessings and good fortune on the ordinary folk. Popular ritual operas are “Dance of Promotion” (Jia Guan), “Gift of a Son” (Song Zi) and “Birthday Celebration” (He Shou) that can be found in various opera-types such as Beijing Opera, Chuan Opera and Han Opera. These are staged at the beginning, before the main opera commences.In Cantonese Opera alone, “The Joint Investiture of a Prime Minister by Six Warlords” is staged as the prelude to the main performance to showcase the artistic strength of the opera company. It remains an opulent operatic showcase that is still popular with opera fans.

About Arts Inc

         Arts Inc is a new group established for the express purpose of showcasing top Asian art forms and arts bodies. The founders of Arts Inc are David Liow and Sng-Fun Poh Yoke who want to bridge East and West through the arts. It is also their aim to build a viable arts industry in Singapore through working with international partners in arts and business enterprise.

         Arts Inc aims to nurture the Asian brand in the arts and ensure its future, develop young talent and distill the essence of the past to create new works.

About De Dynasty Arts

About De Dynasty Arts De Dynasty Arts has evolved from merely an art gallery into a noteworthy developer of innovative, creative and socially uplifting events. These include the Racial Harmony Mooncake where the different ethnic communities of Singapore congregate to celebrate a traditional Chinese festival, and the world’s longest cold dish for Singapore Food Festival 2001 Its niche is Asian cultural and festival events.

Its future is making inroads into the regional market and China.

Source: De Dynasty Arts