| Not merely is Fong Yim-fan's Cantonese Opera a kind of Chinese Opera, but it is also a unique cultural phenomenon of Hong Kong in the 20th century. Its formation, development and inheritance are closely related to the freedom of creations and performances in colonial and post-colonial Hong Kong. I would argue that such a phenomenon is only possible in a very particular historical-political context of Hong Kong which is deeply entwined with, but conspicuously different from that in Mainland China, the PRC.;Fong Yim-fan's Cantonese Opera, which was initiated by the renowned diva, Fong, and her followers, is one of the important categories of Hong Kong Cantonese Opera. Fong's Cantonese Operas serve as pertinent illustrations of the political and cultural changes of both mainland China and Hong Kong from 1950s to 1990s.;This dissertation is grounded in both colonial and post-colonial Hong Kong, in order to examine the formation background of Fong's Cantonese Opera after 1949, as well as the development, inheritance and changes in the themes of its repertoire from a social-historical perspective. Also through analysing the music of Fong's Cantonese Opera, discussing its representative works and demonstrating the relative freedom of creation and performances available in colonial and post-colonial Hong Kong, this study aims to address the cultural role of Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong in the second half of the 20th century. |
