Since the early twentieth century, Hong Kong has always been an important venue for Cantonese opera development. After 1949, as a result of political turmoil in the Mainland, performers and troupes converged and resettled in the territory, leading to a tremendous prospering of Cantonese opera in the subsequent decade. This development is linked intimately with the rise of the electronic media.
Performers and troupes began to grasp the possibilities offered by film and radio to re-examine age-old performance practices with regard to acting, singing, script writing, instrumentation, and stage set-up. They brought in novel elements from the theatre and movie world, and participated in the production of films and records. With these acts, they are extending the movement to modernize Cantonese opera that began in the 1930s.
Wong Jum-sum was thoroughly immersed in the world of Cantonese opera from young. Through his close encounter with master performers like Hung Sin-nui, Ma Si-tsang, Yam Kim-fai, Pak Suet-sin and Tong Dik-sang, he witnessed first hand the modernization of Cantonese opera, and was mightily moved by the adventure and passion he saw.
Before Beatles became a phenomenon, Western pop meant American pop.
American pop was interestingly diverse by nature. In each period, the mainstream was never the only sound on offer. In the 1950s, because of the general prosperity of the American music market, the co-existence mainstream and subcurrents was even more tangible. The music that travelled to Hong Kong then exhibited the same pluralistic tendencies. Amidst these, some stars shone.
In the 50s, the dominance of big band and swing music in America had gone. In their place was a trend favouring star vocalists singing broadly slow-tempo ballads, often expanding upon the Tin Pan Alley standards. New singers joined established ones. Together they brought about the golden age of the vocalist tradition.
Wong Jum-sum looked to the West at this time. He met those golden stars, and never looked back.
