Opera troupes take on scams and more in light-hearted videos

5 public service videos feature excerpts adapted with a twist from Chinese operas

- Chin Soo Fang

Five Chinese opera troupes have teamed up with public sector agencies to convey public service messages in light-hearted videos.

The five videos feature excerpts adapted, with a twist, from existing Chinese opera scripts. They are performed in each troupe's respective dialect and traditional opera style.

For instance, the legendary magistrate Justice Bao tells a distraught old woman awaiting her son's return from the capital: "Do not take messages from unknown origins seriously."

Each clip comes with English and Chinese subtitles, and contains a public service message that the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) co-curated with public sector agencies.

The first-of-its-kind collaboration has been made possible by SCCC, as part of its promotional campaign for its upcoming Chinese Opera Festival 2025 from June 21 to July 26.

SCCC chief executive officer Alvin Tan said: "We hope to stay true to traditional Chinese opera and how it is performed in order to safeguard the art form, and at the same time ensure that the public service messages contained in the videos reach out to one of their intended audience segments - senior citizens."