Preservation of Chinese opera

The scanned article below is from Lian He Zao Bao's edition on 1 April 2013. It is about Mr Ferdinand de Bakker, a founder of Preservation of Chinese Opera (PCO). The PCO is an initiative to preserve the culture and heritage of Chinese opera in Singapore and to bring it to the next generation. Mr Ferdinand is from Holland and his wife is a Singaporean.

Preserving Chinese opera is a formidable task. In Singapore, there are three main opera dialect groups (Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese) and a few other smaller groups (Peking opera, Yue opera and Hainanese opera). Preserving these Chinese operas means not only you need to promote them but also to ensure there are young people passionate enough to want to learn to perform. And learning to be a competent performer is a long dedicated process which requires commitment and perseverance.

I believe the various opera groups and organizations have all along been promoting Chinese opera and trying to attract young people to their shows and activities, and their leaders have been passing on their skills and passion to the younger ones who wish to learn.