Opera Hong Kong Inauguration Press Conference
Speech by Mr Darwin Chen,
Chairman, Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Date: August 22nd, 2003

Ladies and gentlemen, our friends from the media,

I am delighted to be here this afternoon to witness the inauguration of Opera Hong Kong Ltd, the first professional Western opera company in Hong Kong.

Though Western opera may be unfamiliar to many in our community, people in Hong Kong still have the opportunity of appreciating such operas by world-renowned companies and singers from Europe and the US. I think the market is always there for high-quality operatic performances but a lack of popular understanding and knowledge of such works has hindered the development of this wonderful art form in Hong Kong..

So, I was very excited when Warren and his colleagues told me about their plans to form Opera Hong Kong. Now Hong Kong finally has its own opera company, and we shall be able to have more opportunities to enjoy the delights of this wonderful art form without having to go to Europe or other continents. In addition, the education and outreach programme which which the company will undertake is most encouraging as they will help advance its important mission to promote opera appreciation in Hong Kong.

Opera Hong Kong's views on arts development are shared by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. The Council is committed to building a sound partnerships with different sectors of the community with the objective of creating a favourable and enabling environment for artistic pursuits and for promoting arts and culture to the community at large. We also share Opera HK's vision in bringing arts appreciation to all schools in Hong Kong, as we also believe participation in arts activities can inspire the students' creativity.

Opera Hong Kong and the Arts Development Council thus share the same vision and are working in the same direction for Hong Kong's artistic future. I am sure together we can build a good partnership for the further development of arts in Hong Kong.