新加坡潮剧：众人共绘新美景

Teochew opera in Singapore is a musical/theatrical tradition brought in by visiting groups from almost 200 years ago. The art form has been sustained by their local successors, Teochew speaking community, amateur groups, and enriched by new immigrants who were professionally trained from China. As a regional opera form in South-Eastern China that has a long history of over 600 years, Teochew opera is a sophisticated art form with a rich repertoire and exquisite performing convention. Although its sustainable development is facing challenges in a highly westernised cosmopolitan city, it is nevertheless attracting a good number of people who treasure its artistry and cultural value. The important task of heritage and promotion now falls on the Teochew-speaking communities, temples, professional groups, and the passionate amateur groups.

Evolved as a genre with distinctive characteristics in the mid-Ming Dynasty, Teochew opera has a repertoire that can be traced to the classics of the Nan Xi (Southern drama), a regional opera that was popular during the 1230s and 1460s in Southern China. Teochew opera was brought to Singapore as part of religious festivals and performed at temples or open spaces in the mid-19th century. According to the survey conducted in 1881, 26.1 % of the total 84,484 Chinese immigrants were Teochew. The first group that came to Singapore was Lao Sai Yong Feng, a big group that had over 100 members, according to Chen Han Xing, a well-known researcher of Teochew opera in China.

In the 1950s, some of the big groups with such scale and artistry that attracted a large number of followers still existed. I had followed my grandmother and neighbours to attend performances of those groups staged at amusement parks, temples, and open spaces called Jiexi (street theatre) and the Chui Huay Lim Club. However, by the 1970s, due to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in Singapore, Teochew opera groups, like other Chinese traditional theatre groups, faced a great challenge of retaining their popularity. Changes in lifestyles and the banning of dialects on radio and television in the 1970s meant changes in people’s choices of entertainment. The decline of audiences and the subsequent disappearance of opera groups have been discussed by local and overseas scholars and are often reported in the media.

However, since Teochew opera is a legacy of intangible attributes of the Teochew-speaking community inherited from past generations, practiced in the present, and helps individuals and communities understand their own cultures, history, and traditions, it has never been completely forgotten by the Teochew descendants. The art form provides a sense of belonging and demonstrates the values of the community and continuity with the past. Thus, amateur Teochew opera groups have a sense of mission and the passion to practise and promote the exquisite art form. It is for this reason that the 111-year-old Er Woo Amateur Musical & Dramatic Association and the 92-year-old Thau Yong Amateur Musical Association continue to carry the torch of Teochew opera. Many groups affiliated with community centres under the umbrella of the People’s Association are promoting Teochew opera at the grassroots level too. Among these groups, the Joo Chiat Community Centre Teochew opera group of 21 years is the most active, each presenting as many as six public performances at the Peoples’ Theatre, community centres, and temple. A new group called the Chinese Opera Studio, formed in 2022, actively documents veteran actors and actresses on video and shares them on its Facebook account.

The most exceptional development of Teochew opera in Singapore is the transformation of an amateur group called the Nam Hwa Amateur Music and Drama Association. Set up in 1963, it grew into a professional group that offers vocal, performing, and makeup classes, a variety of workshops on Teochew, as well as new productions and classics for public performances actively. Under the leadership of President Toh Lim Mok, BBM(L), the Nam Hwa Opera set up a Yeo Khee Lim Teochew Culture Research Centre and Nam Hwa Teochew Music Ensemble. It now partners with the Shanghai Drama Academy and the Guangdong Chao Ju Yuan to develop a syllabus for Chinese opera. They also look at teaching secondment, enrichment classes for child performers, and creating new productions. President Toh said, “Looking ahead, we shall embrace digitalisation in our work to promote heritage and proactively search for capable talents to execute our succession plans.” In 2023, Nam Hwa Opera’s new initiatives, outreach programs, new productions, and the restaging of Teochew opera classics successfully broadened its audience base. It also partnered with Cantonese, Hokkien, and Huangmei opera in “One Opera Singapore” to attract audiences across genres. Coached by Nam Hwa’s teachers, a well-established quarterly “Nam Hwa Blazes” has been providing young and old performers opportunities to showcase and improve their skills. A noticeable new contribution to the scene is the concert series presented by the Nam Hwa Teochew Music Ensemble in recent years. Eight concerts and online videos of Teochew music were played by young musicians. They are a source of education and cultural pride that attracts new audiences. Nam Hwa Opera’s efforts were awarded the Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award (SCCCA) presented by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre in 2023 for its extraordinary contributions to the promotion, enrichment, and development of the Singapore Teochew opera, music, and culture.

A review of the Teochew opera scene indicates that groups of varied scales are working to the best of their abilities to revitalise this heritage. It is perhaps time to consider new ways of mutual support and collaboration for the common goal of making Teochew opera a dynamic component of our multicultural society.