Kunqu Opera performance on song for New Year
Kunqu Opera artist Zhang Cuihong performed excerpts from the classic play "The Peony Pavilion.”
An immersive Kunqu Opera concert was staged on Friday evening at SPACELESS — Former Union Church to celebrate the coming New Year.
The concert, titled “Dreaming Back to the Warbler's Singing,” is a joint production by Kunqu Opera artists Zhang Cuihong, Tan Xuya and children from the Shanghai Wind Chimes Art Troupe.
Famous Kunqu Opera excerpts of “Strolling in the Garden,” “The Interrupted Dream” and “Searching for the Dream,” all selected from ancient Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu’s time-honored masterpiece “The Peony Pavilion” were performed.
Children from the Shanghai Wind Chimes Art Troupe performed a chorus, followed by Liu Xujing and Chen Daile’s a violin and cello duet.
The show broke through the limitations of the traditional stage.
Kunqu Opera artist Tan Xuya.
With a history of around 600 years, Kunqu Opera, originating in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, is one of the oldest forms of opera in China. Known as the “mother of Chinese operas,” it was inscribed as Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.
The concert received acclaim from both Chinese and foreign members of the audience. Its producer Qian Jiawen also staged the recent innovative performance “Wuxing-Five Elements" at the Great Theater of China.
Qian noted that it is an attempt at cultural integration and innovation to showcase the charm of traditional Chinese culture in such a classical Western-style building.
“We have also broken through the limitations of the traditional stage and treated the entire space as a whole stage,” Qian added. “The performance space of the actors is not limited to the stage. The audience's viewing perspective is not limited to the actors themselves, either.”
Kunqu Opera is known as the 'mother of Chinese operas.'
The performers and audience.
