UCLA

This dissertation explores Cantonese opera in post-colonial Hong Kong, focusing on the interplay between local cultural practices and the pressures of Chinese nationalism. Using practice theory set out by Pierre Bourdieu, this study examines how changes in social hierarchy and cultural identity are manifested within the Cantonese opera world amidst institutional influences. Employing qualitative methods such as interviews, archival research, participant observation, and virtual ethnography, this project examines the professional, amateur, and educational Cantonese opera settings while locating interactions and conflicts within and between them. The influx of formally trained talents, often described as bearers of a “mainland Chinese” flavor or conservatory training and contrasted with locally trained performers who have not attended formal conservatories, suggests two distinctive sets of performance practice. However, an audiovisual analysis reveals that this binary, in fact, refers to a spectrum of practices. Looking through the lens of practice theory, the findings reveal that institutional support and societal attitudes towards public performances have significantly reshaped the ecosystem of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong. Rather than an artistic struggle, the issue of performance practices reveals how a performing art can transform into a battlefield where stakeholders negotiate artistic legitimacy and cultural identity. This dissertation aims to reveal the connectedness and motivations within the ecosystem and what such an analysis can contribute to the broader understanding of performing arts traditions.