Opera drama

Eunice Lam

Famous opera Turandot only received a HK$700,000 subsidy after applying for HK$15 million from the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund to stage it earlier this month.

And world-renowned tenor Warren Mok Wah-yeun, artistic director of Opera Hong Kong, made his disappointment apparent, saying the amount was a drop in the bucket needed for the event.

Mok, in an interview with Hang Seng University's School of Communication, also slammed the cultural events fund for not explaining why the opera is ineligible for the full HK$15 million in funding.

"I applied for HK$15 million and they only gave HK$700,000 - just a drop in the bucket. It costs a lot to stage an opera - we are talking about at least HK$10 million," he said.

"They didn't provide us with a reason - just giving us hush money. But they can't shut me up and I am now telling the public about this."

To commemorate the centennial of the death of Giacomo Puccini, Opera Hong Kong presented five performances of the opera composer's final masterpiece Turandot at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from October 10 to 13.

Mok said Opera Hong Kong had worked with top artists in Beijing this time around and integrated Chinese elements, while all the stage settings and costumes were tailor-made in the mainland.

He said he then applied for the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund with full confidence, hoping that enhancing promotion could attract operagoers from the Greater Bay Area and around the world.

"This is the only opera that tells a purely Chinese story, so I thought we could put out promotions to attract more tourists," he said.

Mok also asked why the opera could not be a mega event and urged authorities to enhance the promotion of arts and culture in the city.

"They were only indulging in empty talk. Does it sound cultured to have drone shows? Sorry, does it sound cultured to hold a one-month night bazaar in Wan Chai?" he said.

Mok cited examples in Germany, where the government has offered full support to all opera houses.

"We have to beg the [Hong Kong] government for more funding, every time, while [in Germany] opera houses are getting 100 percent of government funding support," Mok said.

"That country is using public funds to support opera."

Despite facing challenges when applying for government funding, he thanked the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, saying it is "the best government department to have supported Opera Hong Kong from day one."

Mok, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said his outspoken approach was to do good for Hong Kong and China.

Government funding only accounted for one-third of Opera Hong Kong's annual budget, he said, with another third from box-office receipts and the remainder from private donations.

"If there were no box-office revenue and donations, we would have closed a long time ago," he said.

The Grand Theatre accommodated up to 8,670 spectators for the five Turandot shows.

The turnout is comparable with previous events sponsored by Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, including some 9,000 for Freespace Jazz Fest at the West Kowloon Cultural District in October last year, which received HK$8 million in funding.

The annual Art Basel Hong Kong display at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai drew more than 75,000 visitors last year and got the full HK$15 million in funding.

In response to the media inquiries, Yolanda Ng Yuen-ting, a member of the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Committee, said the Turandot shows were individual cases and referred inquiries to the fund's secretariat.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com