Events › The Awakening: Vancouver Cantonese Opera Workshop

The Vancouver Cantonese Opera presents a special public workshop introducing The Awakening, their new bilingual fusion opera premiering in October 2026. This groundbreaking work blends Cantonese opera, Western music, and multimedia design to tell the story of Chinese Canadians during the Chinese Exclusion Act era.

The workshop features:

• Rosa Cheng (Artistic Director) and Peter Tam (Composer) sharing live insights and previews

• Dr. Stephen Atkins (Director & Co-Playwright) contributing via video from London on the artistic process.

• An introduction to Professor Xu Shang (National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, Beijing), the poster and projection designer for The Awakening.

Join us for an inspiring glimpse into how history, art, and community come together in this unique opera-in-progress.

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*At 3pm (after the workshop), Joe Chang, animation director, artist and professor will screen two short films, Bride's Dream and Moonlit Night of Spring River and Liangtee Tue will do a short presentation on the history of costume and stage design.

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Please register. Registration is not required to attend, but it helps us anticipate attendance and send a reminder the day before the event, or any updates about this program.

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Accessibility: VPL is committed to making our programs accessible for all. If you have an access need that we have not addressed here, please email us at programs@vpl.ca.

• Elevator access to the Alice MacKay is available in the concourse near the bank machine.

• The Alice MacKay Room has wheelchair accessible spaces available.