Hokkien Opera outshines in Chinese opera. It is characterised by its long history, broad genres and rich repertoire, distinctive features and exquisite performance. The five main genres of Hokkien Opera are Puxian Opera, Liyuan Opera, Min Opera, Gaojia Opera, and Taiwanese/Xiang Opera). Together with Puppetry, they are broadly performed across Fujian and introduced to Taiwan and overseas countries by the Hokkien migrants, influencing and impacting the local art culture.

Hokkien Opera

Listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage
A significant opera in the Min Nan dialect, it develops from Koa-á, the story-telling ballad in Min Nan. It incorporates elements from other genres such as Liyuan Opera, Beiguan Opera, Gaojia Opera, Teochew Opera, and Peking Oper.
It flourished in Taiwan at the beginning of the 20th century. It soon spread to southern Fujian and Southeast Asia, homes of overseas Chinese.

Did you know? You can also catch Taiwan Opera in Singapore; click the right arrow to learn more about our local Hokkien opera group – Do Opera!

An original play by Do Opera “Singapore” to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday. It is themed by racial harmony through food symbolism.

Also known as Fuzhou Opera, listed as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage
A speaking opera and the only opera in the Fuzhou dialect.
Elegant, expansive, and unrestrained with clear narration and beautiful singing. Its actors emphasise the basics of hand, eyes, body, method, and step in their performance. Their graceful postures reflect the inner world of the characters.

The basis is “Eighteen Steps (十八步科母 shí bā bù kē mǔ)”
It is a combination of methods based on the two main characters Sheng (the male role) and Dan (the female role) with slight modifications to the others. It is normative yet flexible, characterising the Liyuan Opera.

Also known as “Gejia Opera”, “Jiujiao Opera”, “Daban", and "Tuban”, listed as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage
It originated from a popular costume parade in the rural areas of southern Fujian in Quanzhou in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Typically, people would dress up as Liangshan heroes and perform martial arts.
Its music is mainly based on Southern songs and uses some "puppet tunes" and minor folk tunes. The instruments in Gaojia Opera are divided into Wen Le and Wu Le.

One of the age-old operas in China, formerly known as "Xinghua Opera", developed from the ancient “Hundred Operas”.
It originated in Tang Dynasty, formed in Song Dynasty, flourished in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and shined in modern times.
Its performance is simple and elegant. Many movements are influenced by the puppet show and have a unique artistic style.
It is performed in a dialect with rich local elements.