Research On The Cantonese Opera Inheritance Activities Of The Macau Music And Opera Associatio

As an immigrant city Macau has been deeply influenced by Western culture,and its ethnic groups and cultures are more diverse than those of the Mainland.However,it still retains strong Lingnan cultural characteristics and traditions in terms of living customs and language and shares cultural memories and feelings with Guangdong.For historical economic geographical and cultural reasons,Macau has developed a unique"community society",in which the community can participate in social and political affairsliaise with the people and the government,and serve in grassroots governance,and through which the general public can partictpate in Macau’s public affairs,which is an expression of Macau’s community society 2009 After the successful inscription of Cantonese opera by Guangdong,Hong Kong and the Macao government increased funding for performances by local Cantonese opera and operatic societies,promoting the growth of the number of operatic societies and the enthusiasm of the public to perform folded operas.While there are few professional Cantonese opera troupes in Macao today,there are a large number of operatic societies,which are a key force in supporting the cultural heritage of Cantonese opera in Macao,mainly performing Cantonese opera and folk opera,and are the main means of preserving Cantonese opera in Macao.By examining the operations,performance activities and personnel of the Macao Music and Music Arts Cantonese Opera General Association,this paper explores the characteristics of the cultural heritage of Cantonese opera in Macao:it is organised as an association,relies on funding from the Macao government,and most of the native-born residents perform ancient folk operas,while only Cantonese immigrants perform modern Cantonese operas.Although the majority of the members of the Guild are of Pearl River Delta origin,the social environment and historical politics of Macau and Guangdong are different,resulting in Cantonese immigrants and Macau-born members growing up from different backgrounds and identifying differently with the Cantonese community,and this difference in ethnic identity affects the aesthetics and attitudes of the members of the Guild towards Cantonese opera pcrforance forms.