Cantonese opera expert to report to American boss of Hong Kong’s West Kowloon hub

Cantonese opera performers expressed concern following the appointment of an Irish-American as head of the city’s showcase centre for the traditional art form

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A Hong Kong Chinese person with in-depth knowledge of Cantonese opera will report to the new director of performing arts, sources say. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 9:06am, 20 Oct 2017Updated: 5:58pm, 20 Oct 2017

A local Chinese candidate has been shortlisted as the head of Hong Kong’s showcase centre for Cantonese opera at the West Kowloon arts hub amid a row over the appointment of an expatriate as director of performing arts.

The new candidate will report to Alison Friedman, the Irish-American whose appointment has been questioned by Cantonese opera performers who prefer home-grown talent to be used.

A source at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, which runs the hub, said on Thursday that an advisory panel for the Xiqu Centre had approved the application of “a local Hong Kong Chinese who has been working with various art groups on the administration and coordination of Chinese opera, or xiqu, for more than three years”.

Alison Friedman, who has worked in China for almost two decades, was hired as artistic director for the arts hub. Photo: Handout

The source said a Chinese candidate originally in the running for the director’s job had pulled out, leaving several expatriate applicants among whom Friedman was the most experienced.

“The new head of the Xiqu Centre is no stranger to the performers, and will report to Alison,” the source said.

The Xiqu Centre is still under construction, but has already been embroiled in more than one controversy. Photo: Roy Issa