While Singapore is an extremely diverse cultural and entertainment city, Cantonese opera holds a prominent place in historical and contemporary relevance. This elaborate genre of theatre has much in common with other traditional Chinese performance styles. They all contain spectacular elements such as dancing, singing, martial arts, and acrobatics. Western tourists are often enticed to attend an opera production as part of the Singaporean cultural experience and walk away amazed with the skill and efforts put into these shows. Information on Cantonese opera productions is usually available at the best Singapore hotels where posters of famous actors and productions may also be seen on the walls.

The operas make use of a unique instrument, the erhu, which is a two string bowed instrument. Other instruments, which are more commonly known to western audiences include saxophone, guitar and drums. Generally Cantonese instrumental tunes are used in the productions to provide background thematic music. After trading became prominent with western countries, the opera began to be influenced by outside sounds and styles. This helps to create a chronological progress in the art, which coincides with social and cultural developments.

There are essentially two types of plays used in the Cantonese operas. These are the Mou, which is martially arts based and Man, which means highly educated. The Mou plays focus on epic war themes with the primary characters being warriors or military generals. They are highly action oriented and great attention is placed on dramatized battle scenes. At the other end is the Man plays, which are generally more eloquent and gentle. Scholars and academics are generally the subjects of these plays. The female characters wear water sleeves, which create movements that express the beauty, delicacy, and tenderness of the characters. Both types of plays can contain moral and political lessons. Governments have often used these productions to emphasize the importance of country loyalty.

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