Stars of Chinese opera

Conception: Tian Mansha/Chengdu

Chinese Opera, as this kind of theatre (Xiqu in Chinese) is generally called in the West, has done more to shape China’s image internationally over the past century than any other art form. (The name Chinese Opera derives from the fact that it has, from the earliest times, always united music and acting on the stage.) Moreover, no other form has been instrumentalised politically to anything like the same extent. For during the years of the Cultural Revolution, so-called “model operas” elevated the Beijing Opera as genre, indeed as a national project, to the status of a canon for all the performing arts, thereby suppressing the unique and rich diversity of regional opera styles for some time to come.

That said, there is probably no other traditional theatre form that has been passed down in this way or maintained such a high standard for so many centuries. Even today, despite the decline in popularity suffered by traditional forms of theatre (especially among young audiences) the masters of China’s various traditions remain cult figures with a status comparable to that of pop stars. Take Zhao Zhigang, for example: the star singer of the Yue Opera is more famous in Shanghai than any of the actors, musicians or performing artists. Vocal virtuosity and differentiated movements are what decide an artist’s status and fame. Consequently, tradition - technique – plays outstanding role in opera. And at all times, it has been the actor’s prerogative to preserve and pass on traditional forms as well as to introduce innovations.

Brecht, during his visit to Moscow in 1935, was very impressed by Mei Lanfang, the great performer of the Beijing Opera. For it was in Mei Langang’s art of stylisation and his simultaneous use of characters and situations to shape the narration that Brecht discovered a key to the techniques of Epic Theatre. Other European directors and dramatists have also found in Chinese theatre an important source of inspiration. Meanwhile Chinese theatre has, for its part, absorbed a variety of artistic elements from Western culture: directing, stage settings, lighting and the development of the script and dialogue now play a greater role than before, with artists stepping back to create space for these developments. Hence, it is all the more interesting to enquire how China’s opera tradition has managed to establish itself as a contemporary form whilst continuing to rely on the unique potential of the actor, who still acquires his qualifications and learns his roles and inimitable artistic individuality through years of study.

In the “China – Between Past and Future” opera project, the House of World Cultures will be co-operating with outstanding soloists as it devotes itself to this complex phenomenon. For this project, five outstanding performers from different opera traditions have been commissioned to compose works that deal with the question of handing down and renewing traditional forms.

The productions will be prepared in China before they travel for the final rehearsal phase to Berlin for their premères. The Chinese première performances will be given in May 2006 at the Dramatic Arts Centre in Shanghai.

The soloists selected are