Cantonese Opera shows draw big crowds in some restaurants in Guangzhou, with low ticket prices and intimate environments. Mu Qian / China Daily

An ancient art form may be losing some of its appeal on the mainland but still packs in the crowds in Hong Kong as well among the Cantonese-speaking diaspora. Mu Qian reports.

Dressed in European aristocratic attire, the hero and heroine are having dinner in a set that looks like a palace in 19th-century Paris, but are singing to each other in Cantonese. This scene from Night Banquet in the Palace, a Cantonese Opera adapted from an American film, and pieces from classic Cantonese Opera repertory, such as Prime Minister for Six Kingdoms and Peony Pavilion, are all part of the show, Dazzling Colors of Canton.

Combining rare traditional folk arts with light-hearted banter by the two Cantonese-speaking hosts, the show takes audiences into the world of Cantonese Opera, an art form characteristic of Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province.

Since July 2010, this production of Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Company has been in residence at Guangzhou's Nanfang Theater.

Ni Huiying, artistic director of the show and the company's president, says Dazzling Colors of Canton aims to represent the city and present the beauty of Cantonese Opera to tourists and locals alike. For non-Cantonese speakers, there are subtitles in Chinese and English.

"Ever since Cantonese Opera was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, we have been thinking about how to display the charm of this art form through a performance," she says.

"We hope this work will show audiences not only Cantonese Opera's rich history, but also its fashionable side."

Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Company has invested more than 3 million yuan ($455,700) in the production. However, spectators have been few and far between since its debut, except for the period of the Asian Games when the government of Guangzhou sent tickets to its citizens as gifts. There was one night when only 17 tickets were sold.

Ranging from 50 to 280 yuan ($7.59-42.53), the ticket costs are about the same as for other theater shows in Guangzhou but more expensive than for most Cantonese Opera performances.

Apart from the ticket price, Ni attributes the reason for the show's unsatisfactory box office performance to the decline of Cantonese Opera and Guangzhou people's lack of interest in cultural shows.

However, Cantonese Opera shows are on every day in some Guangzhou restaurants and are well received. At the Datong Jiujia restaurant, every afternoon locals have to fight for a seat to watch a performance while sipping tea.

The restaurant, which can seat 200 to 300 people, is just one of the city's eight similar restaurants that put on Cantonese Opera shows.

"Cantonese Opera is a traditional form of entertainment for Guangzhou people. I like it very much and come to see it several times a week," says Chen Kunling, a 60-year-old resident who frequents Datong Jiujia.

A ticket to a performance at the restaurant costs only 12 yuan and covers a cup of tea that can be refilled infinitely. Moreover, Chen says many people choose to appreciate Cantonese Opera at restaurants because of their more intimate environment.