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Letters | Hong Kong’s cultural history gems live on in RTHK archives
- An exhibition at the historic State Theatre celebrated its contributions to Hong Kong’s performing arts scene
- A search of the public broadcaster’s archives could yield more performances to help showcase the theatre’s glamorous past
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I would like to write about my visit to an exhibition at the historic State Theatre in North Point that was curated by New World Development, which earlier purchased the building and vowed to revamp it into a cultural hub.
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The historic venue was built in 1952 as the Empire Theatre. Owned by entrepreneur Harry Odell until it was renamed as the State Theatre in 1959, it was more than a cinema. It was one of the few auditoriums Hong Kong could offer before the City Hall came into being in 1962.
It is most gratifying that the contributions of Odell and the theatre to the post-war development of the performing arts in Hong Kong are not forgotten in the exhibition. Renowned artists who performed in the theatre – such as composer Benjamin Britten, violinist Isaac Stern and soprano Helen Traubel – are also introduced to the public.
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I recall that some years ago, RTHK re-ran a recital that Britten, as pianist, and tenor Peter Pears gave at what was then Radio Hong Kong on February 6, 1956, the day after their public performance at Empire Theatre. Works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert and Britten himself, as well as several English folk songs, were featured in the programme.
If there is going to be a space showcasing its glamorous past in the revitalised State Theatre, I suggest that the curators have a good look in the public broadcaster’s archives for the Britten-Pears recital recording and other gems.
Ben L. Tsang, Yuen Long
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