The Traditional Arts Centre (TAC), founded in 2012, is an Institution of Public Character supported under the National Arts Council’s (NAC) Major Company scheme. Committed to promoting Chinese culture and passing on traditional arts, TAC organises training, research and performances on Chinese opera, fosters artistic exchanges at home and abroad, as well as creates works with local flavours to build a Singapore brand of Chinese opera.

TAC also regularly arranges for performing troupes to hold talks on opera, demonstration performances and a variety of opera workshops in primary and secondary schools for students to experience the art form up close.

One of the founding missions of TAC is to cultivate young opera actors in Singapore. Since its establishment, TAC has upheld its commitment to nationwide enrollment, offering free public courses in Teochew opera, Huangmei opera, Peking opera, Cantonese opera, Hainanese opera, Hokkien opera and Puxian opera for youths. It also conducts regular training classes for opera performances.

Traditional Arts Centre’s Youth Opera Class (movement training), 2024. Courtesy of Traditional Arts Centre (Singapore).
The 12th Singapore Youth Opera Showcase, 2024. Courtesy of Traditional Arts Centre (Singapore).

Major opera events

In its early years, TAC organised the Singapore Chinese Opera Festival, which featured performances of various opera genres from Singapore and abroad, seminars, lectures by renowned experts and workshops. TAC also hosts the annual Singapore Youth Opera Showcase, which presents opera performances by young students.

The Chinese Opera Extravaganza is another major performance event organised by TAC. Launched in 2013, it serves as a dedicated performance platform for local opera artistes and troupes, offering practitioners of the various opera genres opportunities to share the stage and improve their craft through mutual exchange. Over the years, the event has featured joint productions by opera groups in Singapore, including Hokkien Opera Showcase (2020), Hokkien opera The Butterfly Lovers (2021), the original Hokkien opera When the Narcissus Blooms (2022), the newly adapted large-scale Hainanese opera The Legend of the White Snake (2023), mythical Cantonese opera The Romance of Liu Yi (2024) as well as Teochew opera Mirror’s Fate (2025).

In particular, When the Narcissus Blooms was specially tailored to reflect the characteristics of Hokkien opera troupes in Singapore and the performers. Led by TAC, the production was performed by artistes from Sim Siew Tin Hokkien Opera Troupe, Boon Lay Community Club Chinese Opera Troupe and Jin Xiu Art Centre. Written by local playwright Zhang Shanlan and directed by Cai Bi Xia, this original Hokkien opera with local characteristics featured percussionist and arranger Zhuang Haining, choreographer Li Ruimin, lighting and stage designer Aaron Yap and well-known Taiwanese gezai opera expert Ke Mingfeng, who also served as composer and lead erhu player.

In addition, TAC regularly hosts opera appreciation sessions and keynote lectures by experts. It also introduced the Singapore Chinese Opera Masterclass, where local trainees receive intensive training at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (NACTA) in China. Upon their return, the trainees stage performances to demonstrate their learning outcomes.

TAC also frequently invites renowned overseas opera troupes to perform in Singapore, thereby deepening its exchanges and collaborations with its overseas counterparts in the field of traditional arts. In addition, TAC actively participates in international theatre festivals, staging performances in Canada, China, India and Japan to showcase Chinese opera’s growth in Singapore.

The original Hokkien opera When the Narcissus Blooms, performed at the seventh Chinese Opera Extravaganza, 2023. Courtesy of Traditional Arts Centre (Singapore).
Proceedings of the International Chinese Opera Academic Seminar, published in 2013, 2015 and 2017 respectively. Courtesy of Traditional Arts Centre (Singapore).

Since 2013, TAC has regularly organised international seminars focusing on the development of Chinese opera in Singapore and exploring innovation in traditional arts worldwide. These include seminars held in 2013 and 2014 at the National Library Singapore, and the biennial International Chinese Opera Academic Seminar held at the same venue in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Papers presented at these seminars were compiled and published.

Turning professional

In June 2016, TAC officially transitioned from an association to a professional arts company, and established a board of directors with Chua Kee Teang as chairman. Two years later, TAC reached an agreement with NACTA to jointly establish a base in Singapore for the practice and teaching of Chinese opera, with NACTA sending faculty members to help raise the performance standards of local Chinese opera artistes. This is currently NACTA’s only overseas teaching and practice base.

With the support of NAC, TAC came up with SingaporeOpera in 2021, the first local opera mobile application. It is a communication platform designed specifically for performing arts groups, schools and opera enthusiasts, offering the latest opera news, performance schedules, educational materials and interactive gaming features. This brings local information to users worldwide, making Singapore opera accessible to a broader audience.

In 2024, TAC’s founder and artistic director Cai Bi Xia was awarded The Stewards of Singapore’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Award by the National Heritage Board, in recognition of her contributions to the development of Chinese opera in Singapore.