In the Past

     There were many Chinese dialect operas such as Taechiew, Hainanese, Hakka and Cantonese. In 1875-1900, the Cantonese and Hakka operas were very famous in Thailand. After the death of Empress Dowager Tz’u-his, two of the Taechew opera troupes immigrated to Thailand. The Teachew opera was more popular than the Catonese and Hakka opera, because most of the Chinese in Thailand were Taechew.

In the Present Day

     One of third of Chinese opera troupes used Thai for dialogues and lyrics. Two of third used Taechew dialect to perform, and all of them narrated in Thai. The manager using Thai in opera troupes said that they used Thai to perform outside Bangkok, because most provincials cannot understand Taechew.

     When the performers sing in Thai, it is hard to understand, because the musical tones and rhythms were originally composed for Chinese opera. But she thought that audiences would understand the Thai narration.