Ng Kwan Lai impressed her audiences with her martial arts performance in How Leung Hung Yuk’s War Drum Caused the Jin Army to Retreat, but these roles tend to drain the energy and damage the voice, something that subsequently affects an artist’s vocal performance. Ng was aware of the old saying “lyrical rather than martial” among Cantonese Opera actors, which dispenses the wisdom that there is greater scope for development in the lyrical parts.

So although Ng had immersed herself completely – and successfully – in the performance of martial roles, the renowned Cantonese Opera playwright Tong Tik Sang pointed out that this was going to exhaust her. Ng had a good voice and was perfectly equipped to sing in ji hou (female falsetto singing in Cantonese Opera), and Tong therefore advised her to devote herself to lyrical parts, as this would bring out the best in her singing. Subsequently, Tong wrote the opera A Beauty’s Grave especially for Ng. Playing the tragic heroine Lam Yu Heung, she moved her audience to tears. From that point on, Ng changed direction, devoting herself to performing the tsing yi and kwei mun dan rather than dou ma dan roles. Tong continued to write gentle, elegant roles for her, which included tragic heroines such as Shiu Jing Neung in The Fragrant Sachet and Lee Sam Neung in Madam Lee Sam Neung. Both operas proved to be among Ng’s most successful.

From the early dou ma dan roles to the upright, tragic tsing yi roles and noble ladies typical of the kwei mun dan roles, Ng won the acclaim of her audience and established herself as a versatile Cantonese Opera artist.