Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, the Hong Kong singer, dancer, actor, model, etc, celebrates his 49th birthday today. After entertaining fans at sold out concerts across Asia for nearly 30 years, Kwok will be playing his first ever show in Britain tomorrow night, as the Aaron Kwok de Showy Masquerade World Tour hits London. Last December, a tearful Kwok joined a who’s who of Canto-pop celebs at a memorial concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the passing of the “Madonna of Asia”, Anita Mui Yim-fong …
The Canto-pop diva, who died from cervical cancer aged 40, lent significant financial and logistical support to Operation Yellowbird, it is reported. The Hong Kong-based initiative helped dissidents who had participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests flee the mainland. Mui was cast in 2004 movie House of the Flying Daggers but resigned two weeks before her death without having filmed any scenes. Out of respect for Mui, her character was removed from the screenplay by the film’s director, Zhang Yimou …
Coming Home, the award-winning filmmaker’s most recent project, is set amid the misery and tumult of the Cultural Revolution. Zhang told The New York Times, however, that the film was also a love story: “No one is telling Chinese to passively accept their fate. Rather, it suggests a survival strategy: love. How are we going to overcome history? We need to be together.” In 2000, in Beijing’s Forbidden City, Zhang directed an acclaimed version of the unfinished opera Turandot. Its composer, who died while writing the masterpiece, was Giacomo Puccini …
A seasoned adulterer, the Italian was accused of having a relationship with the family maid, Doria Manfredi. She committed suicide after the allegations were made public but an autopsy revealed she had died a virgin. It later turned out Puccini had been having an affair with her cousin Giulia. The final act of Turandot includes one of the best-known tenor arias, Nessun Dorma, an emotional piece used widely in cinema. It played a significant role in the soundtrack to both The Killing Fields – the 1984 film about the Cambodian genocide – and 2002 British rom-com Bend it Like Beckham, named after retired footballer David Beckham …
Recently spotted at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands shooting yet another commercial, Becks is about to take a brief respite from selling his brand to the world. As an ambassador for Unicef, Beckham has filmed a video about how to stop the spread of Ebola. Next week: Golden Balls brings down Isis. Earlier this year, Beckham and former basketball giant Yao Ming launched a United For Wildlife conservation drive. President of the charity, which campaigns against illegal poaching of endangered species, is Mr Kate Middleton …
Second in line to the throne of Britain (and, yes, that includes you, Scotland), His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus, Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle – or Big Willy, to his mates (probably) – is rumoured to be the queen’s preferred choice to take the throne next, with a possible coronation in June. At the Royal Charity Polo Cup, in Berkshire, England, this year the king-to-be was seen joking with horse-lover and Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok.
