Splendor of xiqu highlighted during traditional opera event

As a highlight of an ongoing performance season in Beijing, a cultural week focusing on xiqu, or various types of traditional Chinese opera, held in early November showcased the everlasting charm of China's classic performing arts.

The Chinese Opera Culture Week running from Nov 4 to 10 included performances and forums, as well as exhibitions, games and a market, exploring new presentation forms for promotion. It was aimed at popularizing the classic arts and boosting creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture, organizers said.

During the week, 21 performances were livestreamed on more than 10 online platforms, garnering more than 9 million views. Related topics and videos received more than 50 million views.

Including broadcasts and coverage in other platforms, as well as being shared by individuals, the series of performances and activities staged during the xiqu cultural week altogether racked up more than 300 million views across the board on the internet, Chinese media reported.

While cyberspace provides easy access to the traditional performing arts and enables the reach of wider audiences, sitting in a traditional theater to watch a live performance has remained the preferred option for many xiqu enthusiasts.

On Nov 4 and 5, Jingju Theater Company of Beijing staged a complete Peking Opera show named Hongzong Liema, or The Red-Maned Steed, four times at Jixiang Theater, providing a veritable feast for the eyes and ears. Jixiang Theater, built in 1906, is located at the heart of the city.

It is unusual to present the complete The Red-Maned Steed, Liu Shujun, a director at Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, told People's Daily. "We hope that through the performances, the audiences will gain a better understanding of what the love story between Wang Baochuan and Xue Pinggui (the two leading characters in the play) is about," Liu said.

"For hundreds of years, the opera has enjoyed high popularity among audiences. It is a classic work that generations of artists devoted all their energies and intellect to crafting," Liu said. "This time, young-generation performers joined in our performances, which represents the significance of Peking Opera's inheritance and development."

On Nov 6 and 7, the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre performed classic Kunqu operas the Peony Pavilion and the Story of Jade Hairpin at the Zhengyici Theater, a wooden theater dating back more than 300 years.

The two signature Kunqu operas were put on in the most traditional way at the time-honored theater. With its setting, ambiance and ancient architecture, audience members can easily indulge themselves in the sheer joy of Kunqu art, said Wei Chunrong, a noted Kunqu Opera performer from the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre.

On the other hand, compared with other theaters, Zhengyici enables performers to get closer to the audience so as to more easily receive their response, Wei added.

At Chang'an Grand Theater, built in the 1930s, young performers from the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts brought three traditional Peking Opera shows on Nov 8.

At the Forbidden City Concert Hall inside Zhongshan Park, a star-studded gala night on Nov 9 impressed spectators with a variety of traditional Chinese opera arts, with more than 20 xiqu masters, musicians and entertainment celebrities showcasing their performing prowess.

On top of indoor theaters, parks and gardens also served as another major stage for the xiqu performances during the week.

For instance, a Peking Opera show adapted from the classic novel Journey to the West was performed at Minyuan Garden featuring typical traditional Fujian architecture in the Beijing Garden Expo Park. The show incorporated elements from other artforms such as dance drama, acrobatics and magic to enrich the performance, giving the traditional opera a modern touch.

In the Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture, Kunqu Opera performers interpreted the Story of Jade Hairpin at a reconstruction of the Changyuan Garden of Suzhou, Jiangsu province. Suzhou is where the Kunqu Opera originated.

Such artistic performances graced the exquisite gardens, while the garden settings and scenery helped to enhance the light and shade of the traditional operas.

In addition, a national amateur xiqu performances contest held both online and on-site, a traditional Chinese opera cultural exhibition, and a cultural market also attracted throngs of visitors.

After the main activities ended at theaters and gardens on Nov 10, a series of xiqu promotional events will continue to be held on a regular basis across residential communities and villages, organizers said.