Big screen treatment for Peking Opera

A project to turn a classic art form into movies is getting a boost with plans to make 10 more such films

For two days in a row recently, Peking Opera master Du Jinfang used a hearing-aid to listen to speeches about the struggling art form at the 7th Beijing International Film Festival. After the speeches, the 85-year-old artist was tired but excited about the progress made by the Peking Opera Film Project, which brought together top opera companies and movie studios to convert classic shows into feature-length movies.

"I began to learn the opera at 6 and took leads at 16. But most of the performers nowadays are in their 30s. We are short of replacements," she says.

"But thanks to the project, young performers will be encouraged and the opera will be revived," she says.

Since 2011, the project has led to the production of 10 movies, such as Mu Guiying Assuming Command, The Chinese Orphan, The Mirror of Fortune and Xie Yaohuan. Six of them have been screened at international film festivals, bagging 13 awards.

The project envisages the production of another 10 such movies in the next three years.

From the six award winners, Farewell My Concubine-a 2,200-years-ago romance about a hero and his lover-has been screened in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, and will be screened in more countries in the next few months.

Opera buffs in Beijing will also get a chance to savor the classics.

As part of the Beijing film festival's Peking Opera section, all the movies were screened in three cinemas in eastern Beijing's Chaoyang district.

Separately, the opera movies will be screened in the mornings for free in these theaters for the rest of this year, according to the festival organizers.

With this initiative, the total number of screenings could hit 500.

Meanwhile, celebrity performers, critics and opera filmmakers see the project - the largest of its kind in New China's history-as a new chapter for the art form, which goes back more than 200 years.

Speaking at a forum on the project on April 18, Li Enjie, the head of the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, says Peking Opera dates back to 1790, when troupes from Anhui province brought the opera to Beijing to mark the birthday of the then emperor Qianlong, a turning point for the art form.

Interestingly, the links between Peking Opera and cinema go back to 1905, when the first Chinese movie The Battle of Dingjunshan was made.

The 30-minute movie, based on the 14th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, was a recording of an opera show performed by then celebrity artist Tan Xingpei (1847-1917).

Peking Opera movies featuring topper formers were box-office hits in the 1930s to 1940s and hit a new high in the 1960s and 1970s with the so-called Yangbanxi (revolutionary model dramas).

However, as pop culture took hold, the following for traditional opera died.

But Li believes that cinema can help Peking Opera regain its popularity, a view shared by others.

Liu Changyu, a famous Peking Opera artist, says, "The big screen can zoom in on facial expressions, gestures and relevant details to give audiences a more clear view of the performance.

"Also, as seats in theaters are limited, the cinematic versions can overcome the limitations of time and space, and give classic performances immortality.

"So, even though the artists pass away, the essence of their performances can be preserved."

Echoing her words, Ma Chongjie, the director of the Peking Opera films Xie Yaohuan and The Chinese Orphan, says that such movies are a treasure for future generations.

Xie Yaohuan is about a female official from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) who serves the Empress Wu Zetian, while The Chinese Orphan is an unlikely story about revenge.

Focusing on the challenges faced in making such movies, Ma says, "The main issues for the crews are how to shoot such a film and what content to keep out."

Typically, most of the classic shows, selected by a 21-consultant team, run for around three hours on stage, but a movie usually lasts for around two hours.

Speaking about the skills required to make such movies, Ma says that a Peking Opera movie director has to be familiar with music, characters and drama structure to make the correct cuts.

Praising the ongoing Peking Opera film project, Cui Wei, secretary-general of the China Theater Association, says that while in the past such movies were produced by just one theater company and one studio, the state backed effort has led to the teaming up of top talent, with most of the movies boasting an all-celebrity cast.

"Audiences can now see performances from different schools (of Peking Opera) in one movie," says Cui.

Wang Xiaoxin, a veteran scriptwriter and researcher, says Peking Opera films will also appeal to foreign audiences.

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn