Peking Opera show puts musical tale center stage
Murder mystery provides backdrop to compelling plot of family, friendship and duty, Chen Nan reports.
As the musical opens, the performers, wearing vibrant Peking Opera costumes and intricate makeup, deliver the opera's good blend of stylized movement, powerful vocals and dramatic storytelling.
The air is thick with the passion of the performance as the singers' high-pitched, operatic vocals blend with the rhythmic beats of traditional percussion instruments, creating a captivating auditory landscape.
"From the moment the music starts, the atmosphere is electric," says Li, noting that the goal of staging the musical is to attract more young audiences to the old guild hall, allowing them to experience the intersection of old and new.
"The audience is invited not only to witness a performance but to be part of a larger cultural dialogue."
The historical guild hall, with its intimate and acoustically rich environment, offers a sense of closeness to the performers that larger venues cannot match.
"As the show progresses, the audience immerses itself in the fusion of sound, movement and emotion, becoming part of the show," she adds.
Li, who is the scriptwriter, lyricist and director of the production, has a large fan base, especially among the younger generation, thanks to her contemporary approach to telling stories in productions of traditional Chinese operas. Born into a family that worked in local folk opera in 1985, Li joined the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing after graduating from the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts in 2011.
Peking Opera, known as jingju in Chinese, has a history of more than 200 years and is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting and martial arts. The art form was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
"It was the first time I directed a musical, and we selected performers from top Chinese art schools, such as the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, the Central Academy of Drama, and the Beijing Dance Academy," Li says, adding that there are also professional traditional Chinese opera artists in the cast.
Since the complex is an ancient wooden structure, protection is key, according to Li, who adds that they made efforts to preserve its historical charm while incorporating technology and interactive elements.
