The Troupe's Founder

The founder of the Choy's Brothers Chinese Opera Troupe is Mr. Choy Yien Chow. The multi-talented Mr. Choy not only performs, instructs, choreographs and directs opera performances, but is also a qualified martial arts instructor.

He specializes in the warrior role. He had learnt opera singing from renowned opera artistes, namely Liu Fushan of Beijing opera, Xiao Didi of Cantonese opera and Chen Xiaohan of Cantonese opera. His martial arts teachers include the well know Ren Daxun of Hong Kong.

Since 1967, Mr. Choy has groomed many local performers in opera singing, opera performance and martial arts. As the artistic director, Mr. Choy directs all the performances, of which "The Precious Lantern", "Madam White Snake", "Monkeys King", Blocking the Horse" and "At the Crossroad" were memorable and well received by the audience.

In 1990, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Association invited Mr. Choy to choreograph and direct a Chinese opera titled "The Drum of Amazon Liang Hong Yu" as part of 25th National day celebrations. This opera was a joint presentation by thirteen societies and involved a cast of 150. The performance was a success and received a standing ovation from the audience.

Mr. Choy was invited by Theater Work, a professional English drama company, to be the Technical Adviser for their well -known drama "Lao Jui". The drama was a huge success and was selected to participate in the Perth Arts Festival.

The Troupe's Inception and Aims

The Troupe was officially established in August 1989 at the Kampong Glam Sports Club. Its inception was marked by a debut seven-consecutive-night Cantonese opera performance at the Amara Hotel. The Troupe is a self-supporting, amateur performing arts group. It aims to promote Chinese opera as performing arts in Singapore and to promote Singapore as a cultural centre in an effort to attract tourists to our country.

The Troupe's Activities
The Troupe's member now meets at the Tiong Bahru Community Centre on Tuesday for vocal and stage acrobatic training. Members also meet at the community centre on Thursday and Sunday to rehearse their performances.

The Troupe frequently performs at major hotels, the airport, shopping centre and other tourist attractions such as Sentosa. It has also been invited to perform at major events such as the RiverHongbao, the Chinese Cultural Festival, the Traditional Opera Festival, the Singapore Arts Festival, the Lantern and Dumpling Festival.

In its effort to promote Chinese opera, the Troupe had conducted lectures and demonstrations on Chinese Opera in the universities and several schools.

Local Performances

The Troupe has performed many popular Cantonese opera excerpts in community centres and in open air stages. Its repertoire of Cantonese opera excerpts include excerpts from the 'The Patriotic Princess', 'Mu Gui Ying' and "Monkey King's Journey to the West". Its forte is in warrior-type opera. It has also performed several full-length Cantonese operas, such as, 'Chun Cao Barges into Court', and 'Xi Shi, the Great Beauty'.
'Chun Cao Barges into Court' was performed in 1998 celebrating the troupe's 9th anniversary, and on 4 February 2001, as part of the Chinese Opera Marthon organized by the Bishan East Citizens Consultative Committee.

'Xi Shi, the Great Beauty' was performed on 24 June 2001 as part of the Chinese Opera at Hong Lim Park series organized by the Chinese Opera Institute, the National Parks Board and the Telok Ayer Hong Lim Green Community Centre.

Oversea Performances

The Troupe has been sent by the Singapore Tourism Board to stage martial arts performances in countries including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Spain and South Africa.

In March 1998, the Cultural Bureau of Jun¡ an Town in Shunde, China invited the Troupe on a performance tour of Guangdong Province. The Troupe in Jun¡ an, Shapu and Daliang, and also staged a charity show to raise fund for the Jun¡ an Senior Citizens Home. This was the first time the Troup performed overseas with an all-Cantonese program.

Performing in China, the motherland of China opera is an enriching experience for the members and a milestone in the Troupe¡'s achievements since its inception.

In November, 2000, the Troupe was invited by the Cultural Bureau of Guangzhou to participate in its Third Cantonese Opera Festival. Its members again gained invaluable experience from its collaboration with China¡'s Foshan Cantonese Troupe.