Christopher Choo, the sole disciple of legendary Cantonese opera master Leng Chi Pak, undertook a journey to explore the origins of traditional Cantonese opera in April 2024.

Through three Cantonese opera excerpts, Christopher staged Tracing Origins – The Life and Times of Cantonese Opera’s Laosheng at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. In exploring the roots of this art form, he reviewed his nearly 50-year commitment to Cantonese opera and expressed his gratitude to his master. These two short documentaries featuring Christopher were produced by Ric Liu and interspersed in that performance.

In this video, Tracing Origins of Cantonese Opera, Christopher introduces the origin and development of the form, and explains why the laosheng was the leading figure among the 10 major roles of the opera troupes. As for his lifelong pursuit of the art, he likens his artistic career to the lengthy backstage corridor of the theatre.

In the second video, An All-Encompassing Role, Christopher recounted how his master, “King of Wusheng”, Leng Chi Pak took him as his disciple. In 1976, when Leng and the famous Chor Fung Ming Opera Troupe performed in Singapore, Christopher lingered around the backstage area so many times that Leng was touched by his sincerity and took him under his wings. Thus began a 16-year father-son, master-disciple relationship between the two. Referring to his perseverance, Christopher remarked, “Dreams do come true!”