Cultural revenue stream

Months after being forced to shut its doors to the public to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater and China Performing Arts Agency Theaters launched a Chinese musical, titled Love Forever, which will premiere on Youku, China's major streaming platform, on Tuesday.

Based on the famous Chinese fairytale, The Legend of the White Snake, which is the love story between a male human and a female snake spirit, the musical is directed by Mao Weiwei from the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, written by composer Li Xiaobing, who is also a professor of the Central Conservatory of Music, and Chen Xiaoqi, a renowned music producer.

The Legend of the White Snake has been adapted into plays, Peking opera productions, television shows and films. The story is well-known among Chinese audiences.

"For the first time, we premiere a theatrical production online rather than in a theater, which is very exciting and fresh for all of us," says Tian Yan, head of the opera troupe of the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, adding that the idea of the musical started three years ago and it has been postponed due to the viral outbreak. "We had no idea if the audiences would accept the new way of premiering a show online or not, but once the news of the musical's premiere was released, they reacted warmly."

According to One World Culture Communication Co Ltd, a company under CPAA Theaters, the musical will cost 6 yuan ($0.85) for viewers who have a Youku membership and 12 yuan for non-members.

"When they reopen, we will take the musical back to the theaters, with shows touring around the country," says Yu Tingting, deputy general manager of One World Culture Communication, adding that the online premiere wouldn't affect the ticket revenues of theaters. "For theatergoers, watching a show inside a theater is an experience which cannot be replaced by watching shows online. When the outbreak ends, everything will be up and running again and will soon get better."

Singer Zheng Qiyuan, who has gained a large fan base with his appearances in popular reality show Super Vocal Season II and performance at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on Jan 24, will play the leading role of Xu Xian, a humble and kind young man. He falls in love with, and gets married to, the White Snake, which transforms into a woman. However, the marriage is opposed by Fahai, a Buddhist monk in Jinshan Temple, who maintains that coexistence of the human and the evil spirit is not allowed. He then imprisons the snake spirit under Leifeng Pagoda on the bank of the West Lake and the couple have to overcome many obstacles to be together.

"Performing in front of empty seats is challenging, yet fulfilling. I missed the feeling of performing on-stage when I had to stop performing due to the pandemic. It's a creative solution for theaters to get through this difficult time," says Zheng, 40, who graduated from Shenyang Conservatory of Music and joined the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater in 2002.

Singer Sun Yuan will play the role of the White Snake (Bai Suzhen), while her fellow vocalist, Chen Mengzi, will play the role of her companion, the Green Snake, another snake spirit who transforms into a woman.

Tian notes that the dancers and singers of the theater had to get used to training and keeping in shape at home when the outbreak began. They shared their training sessions with fans online in a bid to help satisfy the audiences' thirst for cultural content during the lockdown.

"Of course, it's a very difficult time for us. We really rely on performances to keep in touch with our audience," Tian says. "The first attempt at staging online performances might help and offer us a different way of sharing our work. As for the audiences, they will be recharged with art."