Chinese opera Also known by the Malay term wayang (performance). Chinese opera includes street opera as well as those performed in a more formal indoor setting. Street operas are acted out on temporary stages erected in an open space. Shows are usually patronized by Chinese temples. Such performances are often held to fulfil religious- communal functions. These include celebrations of deities’ birthdays, appeasing the spirits of the dead and the celebration of festivals. It is also put on as entertainment for the local community during special social events. Historically, the religious context is the dominant one for staging Chinese opera, which dates back to at least the 12th century.

As reflected in Lat Pau, the first Chinese newspaper in Singapore, Thian Hock Keng and Wak Hai Cheng Bio temples were the principal sites for street operas performed by different dialect groups in the 19th century. Chinese opera was also often performed next to the Singapore River during this period. On 8 March 1889, the Chinese community celebrated the wedding and ascension to the throne of the Chinese emperor Guangxu. Musical and opera troupes of various genres were invited to perform at different locations along the Singapore River, from present- day Ellenborough Street to Upper Circular Road, then further east to Circular Road, Chulia Street, Raffles Place and Change Alley.

Unlike a secular performance in a concert hall, street opera is performed as part of a religious event, and is characterized by its interaction with ritual. Before the main performance, the troupe traditionally performs a series of ritual playlets, such as Ba Xian He Shou (Birthday Celebrations of the Eight Immortals), Jing Peng (Purifying the Stage), Jing Cheng Hui (The Grand Reunion at the Capital), and Liu Guo Feng Xiang (The Joint Investiture of a Prime Minister by Six Warlords). They are performed to ask for blessings from the deities and bring good fortune to the community.

The most well- known ritual opera in Singapore is Mulian Jiu Mu (Mulian Rescues his Mother from Hell). Usually put on by the Henghua community, this play has been performed every ten years since 1944 in Kiew Lee Tong Temple.

In modern Singapore, the majority of Chinese operas are still staged outdoors for religious purposes, usually on vacant land or a parking lot outside a temple. As of 2006 there were about 30 professional groups, predominantly Teochew and Hokkien troupes, which were performing. Over 90 per cent of these performances are for such ritual occasions. Kim Eng Teochew Opera troupe performs about 200 days per year. Before the 1997 Asian financial crisis led to a reduction in funds, major troupes, including Sin Yong Hua Heng Troupe, Lao Sai Tao Yuan Teochew Wayang, Kim Eng Teochew Opera and Sin Sai Hong Hokkien Wayang, performed over 300 days in a year. The annual performance which is put on during the celebrations held in honour of the birthdays of the San Huang Wu Di (Three Kings and Five Lords) is an important event for the Cantonese community.

Beyond the religious context, Chinese opera was also enjoyed as entertainment held in indoor theatres. Many of these were built in the late 19th and early 20th century in and around Chinatown, including Lai Chun Yuen along Smith Street, Qing Sheng Ping, Qing Wei Xin and Tian Yan Dawutai along Wayang Street (Eu Tong Sen Street), Yi Yuan along Merchant Road and Zhe Yuan along New Market Road. Many of the opera theatres were owned by rich merchants who had prospered during this period of economic growth. There were also wealthy enthusiasts who formed amateur musical groups, several of which grew to become full- fledged amateur groups, such as Er Woo Amateur Musical and Dramatic Association, Ping Sheh (The Singapore Amateur Beijing Opera Society) and Siong Leng Musical Association.

The appeal of opera theatres decreased when amusement parks such as New World, Great World and Gay World emerged as alternative performance sites for Chinese opera and other forms of mass entertainment from the 1920s to the early 1960s.

Over the decades, with the construction of new performance theatres, Chinese opera has been staged at cultural venues such as the now- defunct National Theatre, Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre, Victoria Theatre and Esplanade— Theatres on the Bay.