The challenge, she adds, is to combine this musical foundation with stage movement and storytelling that speaks to contemporary sensibilities.
A similar balance between tradition and experimentation drives Life, Death and the Skull. Its writer and producer, Feng Minyi, has long explored ways to expand Cantonese Opera's possibilities without abandoning its foundations.
The idea emerged during a 2021 conversation with veteran Cantonese Opera actor Peng Qinghua about how Cantonese Opera might work in a small theater.
"I didn't think small-theater opera should mean moving a large-scale production into a smaller space," Feng says. "We wanted to find our own way of understanding it."
A frequent theatergoer with a particular interest in musicals staged in small theaters, Feng was drawn to their flexibility and potential to experiment with storytelling and character.
