Life.Culture.Discovery.

Cantonese opera star Mitche Choi on keeping the Hong Kong tradition alive

Mitche Choi knows a thing or two about being in a man’s world – the Cantonese opera star spent a career playing the male roles and modernising the highly traditional art form for today’s audiences

Reading Time:6 minutes

Mitche Choi wears a traditional Cantonese opera costume. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Published: 6:15pm, 18 Feb 2025Updated: 11:35am, 20 Feb 2025

New faces of heritage series: For four artists at the forefront of their craft, a deep sense of Hong Kong’s past is fuelling their vision for the future. See our other features on Kiri T, Jive Lau and Dennis Mak

Mitche Choi Wai-shan was 13 years old when she first took to the stage at the Sunbeam Theatre, Hong Kong’s historic Cantonese opera venue. Portraying a male character, she donned a tightly secured headpiece that allowed her to dramatically swing her ponytail, capturing her character’s grief and sorrow.

The music was deafening, the lights blinding and the headpiece was pressing on her temples. Halfway into the performance she wanted to be sick, but she pushed through until the 30-minute show concluded. “The moment I stepped backstage, I vomited,” says Choi, founder of Shan Opera, a non-profit venture dedicated to promoting, preserving and developing Cantonese opera. “After that, I enjoyed being on stage. I liked the adrenaline rush, but I never thought it would be something I did professionally.”

Mitche Choi takes the stage in an early performance by her company, Shan Opera. Photo: Courtesy of Mitche Choi

Since its establishment by Shanghainese immigrants in 1972, the Sunbeam Theatre in North Point has been Hong Kong’s go-to place for Cantonese opera. However, its days are numbered, having been bought by the Island Evangelical Community Church, with plans to close it in early March. While fans mourn the loss of a theatre that has been entertaining them for decades, it is far from being lights out for Cantonese opera in Hong Kong, thanks to a new generation of performers such as Choi.

In mainland China, children as young as three begin Cantonese opera training, in specialised government-run schools, learning the art form alongside a standard curriculum. Hong Kong lacks such institutions, and Choi’s foray into the discipline happened by chance.

Mitche Choi and her sister at one of their performances at the elderly home. Photo: Courtesy of Mitche Choi

On one Lunar New Year during her childhood, she and her younger sister visited a home for the elderly, to give out presents and perform a mini talent show. The staff mentioned that the residents enjoyed Cantonese opera, prompting her mother to suggest that the girls learn the art form so that they could put on a show the following year. They were soon enrolled in classes at Cha Duk Chang Children’s Cantonese Opera Association in Sha Tin.