Professor Yuen Siu-fai is a maestro of Cantonese opera. Given that he has been acting across a full seven decades, he has progressed from his first appearances as a child prodigy and is now known as a performing arts guru, and master of his craft.

Professor Yuen began performing at the age of seven, initially as a film actor before making his first appearance on the opera stage. He was one of the few versatile artists who can perform across different genres of Chinese opera. As his operatic skills blossomed, he began to write scripts as well. Some of his notable works include Traces in the Snow, The Return of Lady Wenji, and Havoc at Guang Chang Long.

Professor Yuen has been involved for many years in the promotion of Cantonese opera, as well as teaching about the art form and ensuring that its legacy is passed down. In the 1970s, he founded the Group of Hong Kong Experimental Cantonese Opera Troupe to promote the development of the art, and later the House of Cantonese Opera to conduct research in education, training, promotion, and heritage conservation. He organised numerous Cantonese opera summer camps to give introductory training to young people.

In 2006, Professor Yuen established the Dawn Radiance Opera Troupe, which tailors operatic works to provide young actors with opportunities to perform. He was also Artistic Director of the Yau Ma Tei Theatre Venue Partnership Scheme for the Cantonese Opera Young Talent Showcase of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong. What’s more, Professor Yuen has had a hand in bringing Cantonese opera to the world stage. He has taken elite stage actors on tour in Asia, Europe and the Americas to perform the bilingual play Backstage, which helps bring the joys of Cantonese opera to a non-native audience. He also served as artistic director of the One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation, and has promoted Cantonese opera and naamyam narrative singing in innovative ways. 

In recent years, Professor Yuen has been driving the application of Cantonese opera gongche notation for inclusion on the World Heritage List. He also teamed up with singer Hins Cheung in a naamyam x Cantopop crossover; and with Dr. Stephen Tang Shu-wing for both the contemporary Cantonese opera drama The Old Man and His Sea, and the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo Music Theatre 1014 – A fusion of Naamyam and Jazz.

Professor Yuen has been a staunch supporter of the Academy for many years. In 2011, he was an instructor at the Academy. In 2016, he was invited by the School of Chinese Opera to hold a Yuen Siu-fai Masterclass. He served as supervisor, dramatist, guest director and training instructor for the Young Academy Cantonese Opera Troupe. In 2017, the Academy’s event Yuen Siu-fai x HKAPA: Traditional Cantonese Singing and Music featured Professor Yuen performing alongside an opera ensemble and Chinese orchestra formed by drama and music students. Last year, he was invited to join, as an industry representative, the Consultative Committee for the Cantonese Opera Scriptwriting Programme at the School of Chinese Opera.

Professor Yuen’s remarkable achievements and enormous contributions have garnered numerous accolades over the years. In 1991, he was honoured with the Hong Kong Artist of the Year Award. In 1992, he was bestowed the Badge of Honour. In 2003, he received the Award for Arts Achievement in Xiqu from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council; in 2012, he was made an Honorary Fellow of The Education University of Hong Kong. In 2014, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conferred on him the Bronze Bauhinia Star. Other accolades include the Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s Award for Outstanding Contributions in Arts in 2016; the Golden Phoenix, the highest honour in the RTHK’s “Best of Chinese Opera” in 2017; an Arts Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Golden Bauhinia Award in 2019; and an Outstanding Contribution Award from the Hong Kong theatre industry in 2024.

Professor Yuen is also a prolific writer. He has co-edited a book on the playwright Tang Disheng’s work Princess Chang Ping with Ms. Cheung Man-wai; penned an autobiography in which he details how, aged seven, he dropped out of school and joined an opera troupe. He has also published a book of foundational knowledge for playing male roles in opera, as well as other works examining his life and his undying passion for his art.