Title Sponsored by Hysan Development: Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of YAM-PAK-TONG’s Floral Princess

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 23 September 2022 – 2022 marks the 65^th anniversary of YAM-PAK’s interpretation of TONG Tik Sang’s Floral Princess which made its debut at Hong Kong’s premier event venue Lee Theatre in 1957. Utopia Cantonese Opera Workshop, a group actively promoting modern Cantonese opera, is celebrating this milestone with “Floral Princess 65 – A Series of Nine Events” in 2022. Utopia is also co-organising a photographic exhibition titled “A Collection of Coeng-ping Images 65” with the exhibition’s title sponsor Hysan Development. This 65^th anniversary showcase, staged at Lee Theatre Plaza on the former site of Lee Theatre, features the works of more than 10 artists from various disciplines. Utopia has also invited photography fans from the general public to submit entries, andelected images will be displayed alongside the artists’ creations. 65 in total, these images will portray their impressions of Princess Coeng-ping in a modern approach to celebrate this special anniversary. The exhibition runs from October 16 to 25, 2022 at Lee Theatre Plaza (G/F foyer, 1/F and 2/F). The exhibits are selected by a panel comprising more than 10 artists of various disciplines and photography fans from the general public.

< >Floral Princess is one of the best-known Canto-opera plays. YAM-PAK’s interpretation of TONG Tik Sang’s adapted version, in particular, is an iconic classic of contemporary Cantonese opera. Lee Theatre was a venue perfectly suited to Hong Kong’s lavish events in the 20^th century, and its construction was linked to Cantonese opera. Bringing the traditional artform into a magnificent auditorium, Lee Theatre was indeed a cradle for modern Canto-opera. Hysan Development, owner of today’s Lee Theatre Plaza, has long been an important patron that drives the continuous development of many aspects of art and culture, Canto-opera included. It is very pleased to sponsor this exhibition as a contribution to modernising and rejuvenating Cantonese opera with new blood. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the golden age of the art and to present extraordinary photographic works by modern artists of various disciplines that portray the special qualities of the classic character Princess Coeng-ping with refreshingly new perspectives.

< >Photographic artists and a wide spectrum of artists from different disciplines and age groups have been invited to participate in the production of A Collection of Coeng-ping Images 65. Renowned artists and celebrities who have contributed to the showcase include (in no particular order):

• Michelle YIM (film / TV star)

• Wing SHYA (photographer | film / ad director)

• Bryan WONG (advertisement creativity)

• YEE Chung-man (art director | film director)

• Rebecca LEE (polar science worker)

• LO Yuk-ying (photographer)

• Yuri NG (artistic director, City Contemporary Dance Company)

• anothermountainman (visual communicator) x MUI Cheuk-yin (dancer | choreographer)

• CHOW Chun-fai (paint artist)

• Mathias WOO (artistic director, Zuni Icosahedron) x LAI Tat-tat-wing (cartoonist)

• LEUNG Hoi-ping (photographer)

• KWAN Pun-leung (cinematographer | photographer)

• PAN Lingjuan (dancer)

• CHANG Kuei-ling (dancer).

< >LEE Hysan Family and Hysan’s Ties with Lee Theatre and Cantonese Opera

With his family members being Cantonese opera fans, Mr LEE Hysan decided to build a performance venue right next to Lee Garden Amusement Park, and named it Lee Theatre. Designed by a French architect based on the classic Italian opera house, it was completed in 1927. Home to the first 360-degree revolving stage in Hong Kong, it had two thousand seats in different sections. From the 1920s onwards, Lee Theatre had established itself as Hong Kong’s premier performance venue. Boasting a convenient location, unique architectural character and superb facilities, its status remained unrivalled until the venue’s decommission in the early 1990s.

Together with Lee Garden Amusement Park and later Lee Gardens Hotel’s performing venues like Yum Sing Bar, Lee Theatre transformed Causeway Bay into a bustling hub of quality entertainment in Hong Kong. In the early to mid-20^th century, local Hong Kong Chinese had very few places to enjoy their leisure time. The LEE family and Hysan took a pioneering role to promote culture and art in the community. In recent years, Hysan Development and its Lee Gardens Association continue to support art and culture in the community. Hysan sponsored or created the following:

• Premiere Performances of Hong Kong’s musical performances.

• extraordinary large-scale paper art installation “The Cityscape” in 2020, incorporating everyday elements to display different faces of Hong Kong cherished by the public.

• “disconnect HK” an art show in the Lee Gardens Area at the height of 2020 COVID days. An extension of Londons’ disconnect LDN, featuring works of Hong Kong artists in response to the COVID pandemic.

• giant murals “Island Gardenia” and “Communion” on the facades of Lee Garden Two and Leighton Centre.

• joint cultural project “Celebrating the Year of the Tiger” with the CUHK Art Museum to promote the highly influential and colourful Lingnan culture of China.

• the first overseas solo exhibition of Japan’s highly popular budding artist Hikaru Matsubara ─ Happy, Be!

• gLEEful rooftop art project at Lee Garden buildings, a continuation of roof culture in a novel way to invigorate the community with a showcase of traditional Hong Kong children’s games.

Hashtag: #hysan #LeeTheatre #FloralPrincess65 #CoengpingImages65

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