Cantonese opera master Lam Ka-sing died last night at Kwong Wah Hospital after he fainted at home. He was 82.
Known as Sing Gor to his fans, Lam has been a Cantonese opera singer for over seven decades.
He found his passion in Cantonese opera after he and his family went to Guangzhou during the Japanese occupation. At the age of 10, he became a student under famed performer Tang Chiu Lan-fong.
He has been credited with making Cantonese opera popular through over 300 films and more than two dozen TV shows.
He moved to Canada in the early 1990. In 2009, he returned to Hong Kong to perform at the National Day celebration event at the Hong Kong Coliseum. In 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Two years later, he received a Silver Bauhinia Star for his artistic contribution. In his final years, he developed Parkinson’s disease.
According to Fredric Mao Chun-fai, head of the School of Chinese Opera at the APA, Lam was originally set to officiate at the opening of the October season.
Lam is survived by his elder son. His wife Hong Dou-zi died in 2009 and his younger son committed suicide in 2003.
By Kuma Chow.